FROM   THE  LIBRARY  OF 
REV.   LOUIS    FITZGERALD    BENSON,  D.  D 

BEQUEATHED    BY   HIM  TO 

THE   LIBRARY  OF 

PRINCETON   THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


ht< 


BfZ>6 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2013 


http://archive.org/details/univstoraOOwinc 


THE 

UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION, 

EXHIBITED    IN 

FOUR  DIALOGUES 

^3  IS 

BETWEEN 

A  MINISTER  AND  HIS  FRIEND; 

COMPREHENDING 

The  fubftance  of  feveral  real  converfations  which  the  author 
had  with  various  perfons^  both  in  America  and  Europe, 

ON  THAT  INTERESTING  SUBJECT, 

CHIEFLY    DESIGNED 

Fully  to  ftate,  and  fairly  to  anfwer  the  mod  common 
objections  that  are  brought  againft  it  from 

THE     SCRIPTURES. 

A    NEW     EDITION. 
BY  ELHAN AN 'WINCHESTER. 


To  this  Edition  is  prefixed, 

A    BRIEF    ACCOUNT    OF     THE     MEANS  AND  MANNER    OP    THE 
AUTHOR'S    EMBRACING    THESE    SENTIMENTS, 

Intermixed  with  fome 
SKETCHES  OF  HIS  LIFE 

DURING    FOUR    YEARS. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

PRINTED  BY  T.  DOBSON,     AT    THE    STONE-HOUSE, 

NO.   41,    SOUTH  SECOND-STREET. 


M,DCC,XCII 


FROM     THE 

CRITICAL   RtfVIEWr 

For  September,  1788. 


"  OUR  Author,  with  great  candour  and  extenfivc 
u  knowledge  of  the  fubjecl,  difcufTes  the  doctrine  of  eter- 
"  nal  punifhments.  He  thinks  that  there  will  be  a  period 
"  when  every  finner  will  be  reftored  to  the  Divine  favour. 
"  This  doctrine  is  perfectly  confident  with  the  benevo- 
"  lence  of  the  Deity.  It  is  fupported  by  many  wife  and 
<f  good  men ;  nor  is  there  any  reafon  to  fuppofe  that  it  will 
*'  be  perverted  to  ferve  the  purpofes  of  vice  and  immora- 
«*  lity.  Mr.  Winchefter,  in  his  defence  of  it,  fhews  much 
«'  charity,  much  humanity,  and  no  little  fhare  of  learning. 
<f  The  fifth  Dialogue  alone,  which  relates  to  the  defign 
'*  and  tendency  of  punifhment,  might  furnifh  fome  little 
tf  foundation  for  a  difference  of  opinion  ;  but,  in  a  quefti- 
il  on  fo  greatly  above  human  attainment,  the  mind  would 
»'  be  loft  in  the  enquiry,  and  not  greatly  benefited  by  the 
fl  difcuflion.  The  queftion  of  the  univerfal  Refloration, 
**  mud  be  examined  as  Mr.  Winchefter  has  done,  by  the 
*'  word  of  God,  as  revealed  at  different  times,  and  parti- 
u  cularly  in  the  Gofpel." 

N.  B.  A  com'iderable  part  of  the  fifth  Dialogue,  being 
printed  in  the  Leisures  on  the  Prophecies,  is  left  out  of 
this  edition,  and  the  remaining  part  is  included  in  the  fourth 
Dialogue. 


PREFACE. 

TO  THE  READER. 


AS  I  now  prefent  my  Friends  and  the  Public 
with  a  new  edition  of  the  Dialogues  on  the 
Universal  Restoration,  which  by  many  has 
been  long  defired,  perhaps  it  may  be  acceptable  to 
fome  for  me  to  give  a  brief  account  how  I  came 
firit  to  the  knowledge  of  this  part  of  the  counfel 
of  God,  which  I  have  not  fhunned  freely  to  de- 
clare, both  by  word  and  writing,  as  I  have  found 
opportunity  and  neceffity. 

I  think  it  was  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1778, 
being  in  South  Carolina,  upon  the  River  Pee  Dee, 
where  I  was  at  that  time  Minifter,  that  I  called  to 
fee  a  friend,  who  firit.  put  into  my  hands  that  va- 
luable book  written  by  Paul  Siegvolk,  and  which 
is  called  The  Evcrlajl'ing  Go/pel,  of  which  I  have 
lately  publifhed  a  new  edition.  I  was  defired  to 
tell  what  it  meant  to  hold  forth,  as  my  friend 
could  not  tell  by  any  means  what  to  make  of  it 
on  the  account  of  the  fmgularity  and  ilrangenefs 
of  the  fentiments  therein  contained  ;  although  the 
language  is  very  plain  and  clear,  and  by  no  means 
dark,  myftical,  or  obfeure. 

I  opened  the  book  as  I  was  defired,  and  dipping 

into  it  here  and  there,  for  half  an  hour  perhaps, 

was  very  foon  able  to  tell  what  the  Author  aimed 

at,  viz.  that  there  would  be  a  final  end  of  fin  and 

a  2  mferyy 


iv  PREFACE. 

mifery,  and  that  all  fallen  creatures  would  be  refored, 
by  jfefus  Chrijl,  to  a  fate  of  holinefs  and  happinefs, 
after  fuch  as  were  rebellious  had  fuffered  in  proportion 
to  their  crimes.  I  had  never  feen  any  thing  of  the 
ibrt  before  in  all  my  life ;  and  I  fcemed  frruck 
with  feveral  ideas  that  I  glanced  over,  fuch  as 
the  in  con  Men  cy  and  impoiTibility  of  both  good 
and  evil  always  exifting  in  the  univerfe  ;  and  ef- 
pecially  his  obfervations  upon  the  word  eternal  or 
everla/lingy  fhewing  that  it  was  ufed  for  what  ne- 
ver had  a  beginning,  and  would  never  have  an 
end,  as  the  being  and  perfections  of  God ;  and 
that  it  was  alfo  applied  to  things  which  had  a  be- 
ginning, but  fhould  never  have  an  end,  as  the  be- 
ing and  happinefs  of  the  righteous ;  and,  that  it 
was  alfo  frequently  ufed  to  exprefs  things,  times, 
and  feafons  which  had  both  beginning  and  end. 
which  he  therefore  called  periodical  eternities,  and 
gave  a  great  number  of  inftances  of  this  fort, 
which  could  not  be  denied ;  and  he  contended 
that  the  everlafing  punifhment  threatened  to  the 
wicked,  did  not  belong  to  the  firit,  nor  to  the 
fecond,  but  to  the  third  clafs  of  thefe  durations. 
But  as  I  was  only  defired  to  tell  what  the  au- 
thor meant,  when  I  had  fatisfied  my  friend  in  that 
refpect,  I  laid  the  book  down,  and  I  believe,  we 
both  concluded  it  to  be  a  pleafant  ingenious  hy- 
pothefis,  but  had  no  ferious  thoughts  of  its  being 
true ;  and  for  my  part,  I  determined  not  to  trou- 
ble myfelf  about  it,  or  to  think  any  thing  more 
of  the  matter.  And  as  the  book  had  been  fent  a 
confiderable  diftance  for  my  friend  to  read,  I  fup- 
pofe  it  was  foon  after  fent  back  ;  for  I  faw  it  no 
more,  nor  heard  any  thing  farther  about  it.  The 
The  following  fummer  I  went  a  journey  into  Vir- 
ginia, 


PREFACE.  v 

giuia,  and  happening  to  mention  the  fubjecl  to  a 
minifter  there,  he  told  me  that  a  few  years  before, 
it  had  been  a  fubjett  of  controverfy  in  the  public 
papers,  between  a  clergyman,  who  defended,  and 
a  gentleman  of  the  law,  who  denied  the  proper 
endlefs  eternity   of  puniftiment ;  and   he  told  me 
that  this  gentleman  who  denied  it,  had  advanced, 
that  the  translators  of  the  Bible  had  rendered  the 
\ery  fame  Greek  word,  by  very  different  Englilh 
words,  fometimes  rendering  it  for  ever,  and  fome- 
rimes  world;  and  that    if  they   had   always  uni- 
formly rendered  it  by  one  Englifh  word,  it  would 
have  been  evident  to  all   readers,  that  no  argu- 
ment  for  endlefs  mifery,  could  have  been  drawn 
therefrom.     I  was  told  alio  while  I  was  in  Vir- 
ginia, that  a  clergyman  of  the  epifcopal  church, 
had  a  few   years  before,  given  out  that  he  had 
fome  wonderful  thing  to  make  known  to  his  hear- 
ers, which  he  would  preach  upon  fome  Sunday, 
but  did  not  mention  when.     This  railed  the  pub- 
lic   curiofity,    and    great    numbers    attended   his 
place  of  worfhjp  in  hopes  of  hearing  what  this 
wonderful  thing  might  be  ;  but  for  a  conjidera- 
bie  time  the  matter  was  undifcovered.     But  at  laffc 
he  gave  out,  that  on  the  next  Sunday  he  would 
open  this  great   fecret.     Vaft   numbers  of  people 
flocked  to  hear  what  it  could  be  ;  When  he  came 
to  declare  what  it  was,  behold  !  it  was  a  wonder- 
ful piece  of  news  indeed,  fuch  as  had  never  been 
heard   before   in   any  pulpit  in  Virginia.     It  was 
nothing  fhort  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Refloratim.  I 
think,  to  the  befl  of  my  remembrance,   they  told 
me,  that  he  opened  and  enlarged  upon  it  for  two 
Sundays,    and   never  preached   any  more,  being 
immediately  after  feized  with  fickneis,  which  ter- 
a  3  minated 


vf  PREFACE. 

minated  in  bis  death.  And  this  was  generally 
dteemed  as  a  judgment  that  fell  upon  him  for 
daring  to  preach  fuch  a  wicked,  falfe,  and  da 
reus  opinion  ;  and  that  God  cut  him  or? from  the 
land  of  the  living,  to  teitify  his  difpleafure  a- 
gainfc  him ;  and  to  terrify  others  from  daring  to 
follow  his  example,  or  believe  his  fentirr.. 
But  perhaps  this  might  have  been  ibme  worthy, 

ed,  pious  man,  who  had  long  concealed 
grand  truth  in  his  heart,  and  had  derived  much 
:_-£lion  therefrom,  and  longed  to  proclaim  it 
to  others,  for  their  good.  And  at  iaft,  notwiths- 
tanding the  oppefition  that  he  might  expect,  re- 
folved  fo  to  do;  and  accordingly  was  ena: 
jofl  before  his  time  came  to  depart  out  of  this 
world,  to  bear  a  faithful  tefUmony  to  this  moil: 
grand  and  important  of  all  God's  purpofes.  And 
having  performed  his  duty,  his  mafter  called  him 
to  receive  his  reward,  and  gave  him  the  glorious 
plaudit  of,  '  Well  done,  thou  good  and  faithful 
fervant ; — enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord.' 
As  for  the  vain  judgments  of  men  they  arc 
to  be  regarded.  '  For  they  know  not  the  thoughts 
of  the  Lord,  neither  underftand  they  his  counie!.' 
■  But  the  fouls  of  the  righteous  are  in  the  hand  of 
,  and  there  (hall  no  torment  touch  them.  In 
the  fight  of  the  unwife  they  feemed  to  die  ;  and  I 
departure  is  taken  for  mifery.  And  their  going 
from  us  to  be  utter  deftructicn  ;  but  they  are  in 
:-.  For  though  they  be  punifhed'in  the  fight 
of  men,  yet  is  their  hope  full  of  immortality.  And 
having  been  a  little  chaftifed,  they  mail  be  greatly 
rewarded  ;  for  God  proved  them,  and  found  them 
worth v  for  himfelf.  A  gold  in  the  furnace  hath 
,  and  hath  received  them  as  abi 

offering. 


PREFACE.  va 

tag*     And  in  the  time  of  their  \  ifitador.,  th  e  y 

iliall  fhme,  and  run  to  and  t:  ;,  like  (parks  among 

(tubble.     They  (hall  judge  the  nations,   and 

dominion  over  the  people,  and  their   Lord 

...  .k  reign  for  ever.     The;,  that  put  their  troll  in 

him  (hill  uaderftand  the  truth  \  and  filch  as  be 

in  love  (hall    abl  h  with  him:  for  grace 

: v  is  to   :.'.-  :air.:~,  aad  be  /..:'   care  I   r 

his  elecl.'     <  But    though  the  ri      .- 

I  with  death,  <  \  in  reft.1 

lam  apt  to  think  tb  that  this  mintfter 

was  one  of  uncommon  faith  aad  love,  and  as  he 
believed  God,  lb  he  lo\ci  mankind,  and  wi 
them  to  know  the  amazing  riches  of  their  Ke- 
rens love  towards  them:  and  when  he  had 
openlv  delivered  this  teftimony,  he  was  called  to 
his  reft. 

Indeed  if  the  enemies  of  this  doctrine  had  been 
>,  I  ihoLiid  have  died  and  gone  to 
hell  long  ago-,  for  no  (boner  was  it  known  I  had 
embraced  it,  but  fome  gave  out  that  I  would 
live  a  year  ;  but  I  have  already  lived  eleven.  One 
y  old  friends  defii  ed  me  to  take  particular  no- 
tice of  what  he  (aidj  which  he  expreiled  inthefe 

iu.  In  fix 
this  time,  you   will  turn  Deiii,  and  deny  all      - 
vealed  religion:  an  I  in  twelve   mouths  you   will 
turn.  r-the  being  of  God.  ndo^. 

yon-keif  to  all  kinds  of  open  wickedneis.'  Blc 
be  God,  this  has  alio  proved  falle.  And  they  ge- 
neraily  ieemed  to  agree  to  pre  jhefy  certain  do- 
nation to  me  whenever  I  ih  art  out  of  this 
world.  But  I  truft  this  is  equally  falfe,  ■  F  •:  1 
f  whom  I  have  believed,   [or  :vi:[:;d,  an 

perl . 


viii  PREFACE. 

perfuaded  that  he  is  able  to  keep  that  which  I  have 
committed  unto  him  againft  that  day.' 

But  to  return  to  my  narrative, 

Sometime  after  I  returned  back  to  Smith-Caro- 
lina, a  Phyfician  with  whom  I  had  been  acquaint- 
ed in  Virginia>  came  to  live  in  the  pariah  where  I 
was  minifter ;  and  among  his  books  I  found  the 
Everlajling  Go/pel,  by  Paid  Siegvolje  j  this  was  the 
fecond  copy  that  had  fell  in  my  way,  and  1  read 
a  little  more  therein,  but  as  yet  had  not  the  lead 
thought  that  ever  I  mould  embrace  his  fentiments  ; 
yet  fome  of  his  arguments  appeared  very  conclu- 
sive, and  I  could  not  wholly  make  them  off,  but 
1  concluded  to  let  them  alone,  and  not  invefli- 
gate  the  matter  -,  and  therefore  I  never  gave  the 
book  even  fo  much  as  one  curfory  reading,  till 
with  great  difficulty  I  procured  one  in  the  city  of 
Philadelphia,  more  than  two  years  afterwards. 

In  the  year  1779,  I  found  myfelf  much  ftirred 
up  to  exhort  my  fellow  creatures  to  repent,  be- 
lieve, and  obey  the  Gofpel,  and  began  to  adopt 
a  more  open  and  general  method  of  preaching 
than  I  had  ufed  for  fome  years  before  ;  having 
been  deemed  one  of  the  moil  confident  Calvinifls 
upon  the  continent,  much  upon  the  plan  of  Dr. 
Gill,  whom  I  efteemed  almofl  as  an  oracle.  But 
now  my  heart  being  opened,  and  viewing  the 
worth  of  fouls,  1  felt  great  compalTion  towards 
them,  and  invited  them  with  all  my  might  to  fly 
for  mercy  to  the  aims  of  Chrift,  who  died  for 
them,  and  who  was  willing  to  five  them.  I  was 
gradually  led  into  this  way  of  preaching,  without 
Confidering  any  thing  about  its  confiftency  with 
Ariel  calvinifm,  but  finding  myfelf  very  happy, 
:md  comfortable  in   my  own  mind,  and  that  this 

method 


PREFACE.  ix 

method  of  preaching  was  highly  nieful,  I  conti- 
nued to  go  in  the  fame  courfe. 

About  this  time  I  began  to  find  uncommon  de- 
fires  for  the  converfion  and  falvation  of  the  poor 
negroes,  who  were  very  numerous  in  that  part  of 
the  country ;  but  whom  none  of  my  predeceffors, 
that  I  could  learn,  had  ever  taken  pains  toinftruct 
in  the  principles  of  Chriftianity  ;  neither  had  any 
fingle  flave,  either  man,  or  woman  been  baptized 
until  that  fummer,  in  the  whole  parifti  (which  was 
very  large)  that  I  ever  heard  of. 

The  prejudices  which  the  flaves  had  againfl 
Chriftianity,  on  account  of  the  feverities  practifed 
upon  them  by  prof  effing  Chriftians,  both  minifters 
and  people,  might  be  one  principal  reafon  why 
they  could  not  be  brought  to  attend  to  religious 
inftrucYions.  But  they  had  no  prejudice  againfl 
me  on  that  fcore,  as  I  never  had  any  thing  to  do 
with  flavery,  but  on  the  contrary  condemned  it ; 
and  this  being  pretty  generally  known,  operated 
fo  upon  the  minds  of  thofe  poor  creatures,  that 
they  mewed  a  difpofition  to  attend  my  miniftry, 
more  than  they  had  ever  fhewed  to  any  other. 
But  (till  I  never  had  addrefled  them  in  particular, 
and  indeed  bad  hardly  any  hopes  of  doing  them 
good.  But  one  evening  feeing  a  great  number  of 
them  at  the  door  of  the  houfe  where  I  was  preach- 
ing, I  found  myfelf  conftrained  as  it  were,  to.  go 
to  the  door,  and  tell  them,  That  Jefus  Chrift 
loved  them,  and  died  for  them,  as  well  as  for  us 
white  people,  and  that  they  might  come  and  be- 
lieve in  him,  and  welcome.  And  I  gave  them  as 
warm  and  prefling  an  invitation  as  I  could,  to 
comply  with  the  glorious  gofpel.  This  fhort  dii- 
coyrfe  addrefled  immediately  to  them,  took  great- 
a  r  er 


x  PREFACE. 

er  effect  than  can  well  be  imagined.  There  were 
about  thirty  from  one  plantation  in  the  neighbour- 
hood prefent;  (befides  others)  thefe  returned 
home,  and  did  not  even  give  fltep  to  their  eyes, 
as  they  afterwards  informed  me,  until  they  had 
fettled  every  quarrel  among  themielves,  and  ac- 
cording to  their  form  of  marriage,  had  married  e- 
very  man  to  the  woman  with  whom  he  lived  •,  had 
relfored  whatever  one  had  unjuftly  taken  from  a- 
nother  ;  and  determined  from  that  time  to  feek 
the  Lord  diligently.  From  that  very  evening  they 
began  conftantly  to  pray  to  the  Lord,  and  io  con- 
tinued ;  and  he  was  found  of  them.  I  continued 
to  inilrucl:  them,  and  within  three  months  from 
the  firft  of  June,  I  baptized  more  than  thirty 
blacks  belonging  to  that  plantation,  befides  as 
many  others,  as  in  the  whole  made  up  one  hun- 
dred, of  which  fixty  three  were  men,  and  thirty- 
feven  were  women,  all  which  were  born  in  Afri- 
ca) or  immediately  defcended  from  fuch  as  were 
natives  of  that  unhappy  country. 

My  preaching  was  not  only  ufeful  to  the  poor 
flaves,  but  alfo  to  great  numbers  of  the  white 
people,  of  whom  1  baptized  upon  profeiTion  of 
repentance  and  faith  in  Chrifr,  about  one  hundred 
and  thirty-nine  perfons  within  the  lame  fpace. 
This  was  a  fummer  of  great  fuccefs,  and  I  mall 
remember  that  happy  fcaibn  with  pleafure  while 
1  live.  This  fummer  I  received  fome  farther  dawn- 
ings  of  the  day  of  the  general  Reftoration  in  my 
mind,  for  upon  confidering  feveral  Scriptures,  fuch 
as  thefe,  *  He  fhall  fee  of  the  travail  of  his  foul, 
and  fhall  be  fatLsficd  *,  by  his  knowledge  mall  my 
righteous  fcrvant  juftify  many:  for  he  fhall  bear 
their  iniquities,'  Ifai.  liii.  1 1.    *  After  this  I  beheld, 

and 


PREFACE.  xi 

lo,  a  great  multitude,  which  no  man  could  num- 
ber, of  all  nations,  and  kindreds,  and  peoples, 
and  tongues,  flood  before  the  throne,  and  before 
the  Lamb,  clothed  with  white  robes,  and  palms 
in  their  hands'  Rev.  vii.  9.  I  became  fully  per- 
fuaded  that  the  number  of  the  finally  faved  would 
equal,  if  not  exceed  the  number  of  the  loft.  And 
I  was  fo  forcibly  imprefTed  with  this  new  and  very 
joyful  difcovery,  that  I  not  only  converfed  in  that 
{train  privately,  but  boldly  preached  it  in  the  con- 
gregation, which  generally  confifted  of  nearly  a 
thoufand  perions  upon  Sundays.  Some  of  the 
people  to  v.  horn  I  had  mentioned  fomething  re- 
lpecYmg  the  fentiment,  thought  that  I  was  going 
at  once  to  declare  myfelf  in  favour  of  the  general 
RtJJoraikfi.  But  that  was  as  yet  far  from  being 
the  cafe  *,  though  fome  of  the  arguments  which  I 
had  glanced  upon  in  that  book,  the  Everlajling 
Go/pel,  would  frequently  prefent  themfelves  to  my 
mind  in  fuch  a  forcible  manner  that  I  could 
fcarceiy  withftand  their  evidence. 

In  the  month  of  September  I  left  South-Caroli- 
na, on  a  vifit  to  my  friends  in  New  England,  in- 
tending however  to  return  to  my  people  again ; 
but  to  prevent  their  being  left  deftitute,  I  procur- 
ed the  Rev.  Mr.  Botsford  to  come  and  fupply  them, 
upon  this  condition,  that  whenever  I  mould  re- 
turn, he  mould  refign  the  congregation  to  me  a- 
gain,  if  I  required  it.  But  he  has  remained  the 
conftant  Pallor  ever  fmce.  I  then  travelled  (low- 
ly through  the  continent,  preaching  to  the  peo- 
ple, and  converling  with  my  friends,  to  whom 
fometimes  in  private  I  propofed  fome  of  the  argu- 
ments in  favour  of  the  general  Rejloraticn,  which 
I  had  read  in  the   Everlafting  Go/pel y  on  pur  pole 

to 


xa  PREFACE. 

fee  what  anfwers  they  could  give ;  and  this  I  did 
efpecially  to  able  minifters  ;  but  to  my  iurpriie 
often  found  them  quite  at  a  ftand,  not  knowing 
what  to  lay.  And  fome  were  almoft  overpower- 
ed, with  even  the  weak  manner  in  which  I  was 
capable  of  holding  forth  the  arguments  in  favour 
of  the  Ref oration.  And  oftentimes  the  anfwers 
that  fome  of  the  greateft  men  gave,  were  fuch 
as  tended  to  increafe  my  doubts  reflecting  endlefs 
tnifery,  rather  than  to  remove  them.  I  remember 
once,  that  I  afked  the  Rev.  Mr.  Mannings  Prefi- 
dent  of  Rhode- If  and  College,  and  who  was  at 
that  time  one  of  my  dear  eft  friends,  what  was 
the  ftrongeft  argument  that  he  could  ufe  in  favour 
©f  the  doctrine  of  endlefs  mifery  ?  He  anfwered, 
That  it  was  the  nature-  of  God,  to  lay  the  great- 
eft;  poiTible  reftraint  upon  fin,  and  therefore  he 
had  threatened  it  with  endlefs  punijhmenty  as  the 
higheft  reftraint  he  could  poffibly  lay  upon  it. 
This  argument  is  anlwered  in  the  third  Dialogue. 
Thus  after  much  feeking  I  could  find  no  fatisfac- 
tion  in  the  matter  ;  but  ftill  my  doubts  increafed. 
Notwithftanding,  I  withftood  the  doctrine  of  the 
Ref  oration  with  all  my  might,  and  fometimes  preach- 
ed publicly  againft  it  with  all  the  force  I  could  muf- 
ter.  Yet  there  was  fomethingin  its  favour  that  gained 
gradually  upon  my  mind,  and  fometimes  brought 
me  to  be  almoft  willing  to  embrace  it.  I  plainly 
faw  that  it  would  reconcile  almoft,  if  not  quite, 
all  the  difficulties  of  other  fyftems  ;  and  I  thought 
if  1  fhould  ever  receive  it,  1  mould  be  able  to  preach 
much  eafier,  and  more  freely  than  ever,  and  with 
far  greater  fatisfacTion,  which  by  experience,  I 
have  fince  found  to  be  true.  The  ideas  were  fome- 
times fo  tranfporting  to  me,  even  while  I  profeffed 

to 


PREFACE.  xiii 

to  oppofe  the  fentiment,  that  I  have  been  conftrain- 
ed  to  fet  them  forth  in  the  moft  fublime  manner 
that  I  was  able  ;  and  fometimes  fo  as  actually  to 
bring  them  who  heard  me  converfe  upon  the  fub- 
ject  to  believe  and  rejoice  in  the  Univerfal  Rejlora- 
tion,  while  I  thought  myfelf  an  oppofer  of  it,  and 
only  propofcd  the  arguments  in  its  favour  to  fee 
what  effect  they  would  have  on  fuch  who  never 
heard  them  before.  And  I  was  often  carried 
away  before  I  was  aware,  even  while  I  intended 
only  to  let  my  friends  hear  what  might  be  faid.  I 
remember  once,  while  I  was  at  my  father's  table 
in  the  year  1780,  that  I  mentioned  the  doctrine  of 
the  Reftoratioti,  and  finding  that  none  in  company 
had  ever  fo  much  as  heard  of  fuch  a  fcheme,  I 
began  to  hold  it  forth,  produced  many  arguments 
in  its  favour,  brought  up  many  objections,  anfwer- 
ed  them  in  fuch  a  manner  as  aftonifhed  all  prefent, 
and  I  was  amazed  at  myfelf,  I  fpoke  with  fo  much 
eafe  and  readinefs  as  I  had  hardly  ever  experienced 
before  on  any  occafion.  Nay,  I  was  fo  much  ani- 
mated with  the  fubject  that  I  faid,  That  I  did  not 
doubt  but  that  in  fixty  years  time,  that  very  doc- 
trine would  univerfally  be  preached,  and  generally 
embraced  in  that  very  country,  and  would  certain- 
ly prevail  over  all  oppofition. 

This  difcourfe  made  a  greater  impreffion  upon 
the  minds  of  thofe  who  heard  it,  and  upon  my 
ov/n  alfo,  than  I  intended ;  and  though  I  after- 
wards ufed  the  beffc  arguments  I  could  in  favour 
of  the  common  opinion,  yet  I  found  them  ineffi- 
cient wholly  to  remove  the  effects  of  what  I  had 
before  faid. 

After  fpending  about  twelvemonths  in  the  moil 
delightful    manner,     conftantly   journeying   and 

preaching 


xiv  PREFACE. 

preaching  with  great  fuccefs,  to  vail  multitudes  of 
people  in  my  native  country,  I  fet  off  with  inten- 
tion to  return  towards  South-Carolina.  On  the 
way  I  tarried  fome  time  at  the  houfe  of  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Samuel  Waldo,  in  Pawling' s  PrecinB,  ftate  of 
New-Tor!:,  whofe  kind  and  friendly  behaviour  to- 
wards me  I  remember  with  pleafure,  and  mention 
with  gratitude.  I  had  a  great  deal  of  very  agree- 
able converfation  with  him  upon  the  matter,  and 
he  did  not  ieem  to  oppofe  the  ideas  hardly  at  all ; 
but  only  gently  cautioned  me  againft  receiving  any 
thing  erroneous.  He  is  a  man  of  a  moft  excel- 
lent ipirit,  and  his  family  was  upon  the  whole  the 
moil  delightful,  agreeable,  and  happy  family  that 
I  ever  knew.  While  I  was  at  his  houfe  one  of  his 
children,  then  about  twenty  years  of  age,  feemed 
fully  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  doctrine,  by 
liftcning  to  our  converfation,  and  was  filled  with 
great  joy  at  the  idea.  Several  religious  men  who 
were  on  a  journey,  lodged  at  the  houfe  while  I 
was  there,  got  a  hint  of  the  matter,  and  wifhed 
to  hear  all  that  I  could  fay  in  defence  of  it  •,  I  ac- 
cordingly gave  them  fome  of  the  principal  argu- 
ments in  its  favour,  and  obviated  fome  of  the  moft 
capital  objections  that  could  be  brought  againft  it ; 
and  I  afterwards  overheard  them  wifhing  that  they 
had  not  been  fo  curious  as  to  have  enquired  fo  far 
into  the  fubject,  for  they  could  not  refill  the  argu- 
ments, although  they  feemed  relblved  to  treat  the 
fentiment  as  an  error. 

In  this  Hate  of  mind,  half  a  convert  to  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Bejloration,  I  arrived  in  the  city  of 
Philadelphia,  on  the  7th  of  October,  1780.  I  in- 
tended to  have  left  the  city  in  a  few  days,  and  to 
have  gone  on  towards  South-Carolina,  but  the  Bap* 

lift 


PREFACE.  xt 

tift  church  being  deititute  of  a  minifter,  they  in- 
vited me  to  flop  and  preach  with  them,  to  which 
I  was  at  length  perfuaded,  and  for  fome  time  I 
was  much  followed,  and  there  were  great  additions 
to  the  church.  The  congregations  increafed  in 
fuch  a  manner,  efpecially  on  Sunday-evenings,  that 
our  place  of  worihip,  though  large,  would  by  no 
means  contain  them  ;  at  length  leave  was  afked  by 
fome  of  my  friends  for  me  to  preach  in  the  church 
of  St.  Paul,  in  that  city,  which  was  granted. 
This  was  one  of  the  largefl  houfes  of  worfhip  in 
Philadelphia,  and  equal  in  bignefs  to  moft  of  the 
churches  in  London.  1  think  I  preached  there  about 
eighteen  fermons,  and  generally  to  very  crowded 
audiences,  frequently  more  than  could  poilibly  get 
into  the  houfe ;  moil:  of  the  clergy,  of  every  de- 
nomination in  the  city,  heard  me  there,  and  many 
thoulands  of  different  people.  I  am  inclined  to 
think,  that  1  never  preached  to  fo  many  before  nor 
fince  as  I  did  fometimes  in  that  houfe,  and  with 
almoil:  univerfai  approbation.  But  now  the  time 
of  my  trouble  and  catting  down  came  on,  and  thus 
it  was. 

Soon  after  I  arrived  in  the  city  I  had  enquired 
of  fome  friend  for  The  Everlajling  Gofpel,  which 
I  could  not  light  on  for  fome  time,  but  they  lent 
me  Mr.  Stonehoufe's  book  upon  the  Rejlitntion  of  all 
Things,  which  I  had  never  feen  nor  heard  of  be- 
fore -,  this  very  learned  work  I  read  with  great 
care,  and  his  reafoning,  arguments,  and  fcripture- 
proofs  feemed  to  me  entirely  fatisfaclory. 

The  friends  who  procured  me  the  works  of  Mr. 
Stonehonfe,  were  concerned  at  my  having  an  incli- 
nation to  read  any  thing  upon  iuch  a  fubjecl ;  ne- 
verthelcfs,  though  there  were  ieveralof  them  with 

whom 


xvi  PREFACE. 

whom  I  converted  pretty  freely  upon  the  matter, 
and  who  knew  of  my  reading  Mr.  Stonehoufe's 
works,  yet  they  behaved  in  fo  friendly  a  manner 
towards  me,  that  they  never  mentioned  a  word  of 
it  to  any,  until  by  other  means  it  come  to  be  known 
and  talked  of. 

In  the  houfe  where  I  lodged,  when  I  firft  came 
to  the  city  I  had,  in  the  freedom  of  converfation, 
and  with  fome  appearance  of  joy,  exprefled  myfelf 
in  general  terms  upon  the  fubject,  but  always  in 
the  exact  words  of  Scripture,  or  in  inch  a  manner 
as  this,  viz.  That  I  could  not  help  hoping  that 
God  would  finally  bring  every  hiee  to  bow,  and 
every  tongue  to  fiuear  :  and  that  at  the  name  of  Je- 
fus  every  knee  Jhould  bow,  of  things  in  heaven,  and 
things  in  earth ;  and  things  under  the  earth;  and 
that  every  tongue  fhould  cotifefs  Jesus  Christ  to  be 
Lord  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father.  And  that  I 
hoped,  that  in  the  dijpenfation  of  the  fulnefs  of  times , 
he  might  gather  together  in  one  all  things  m  Christ, 
both  which  are  in  heaven,  and  which  are  on  earth, 
&c. 

Such  paiTages  as  thefe  I  mentioned  in  this  man- 
ner, hoping  that  they  would  be  fulfilled.  The 
people  of  the  houfe  feemed  furprifed,  and  afked 
me  if  I  believed  fo:  I  anfwered,  (  That  fometimes 
I  could  not  help  hoping  that  it  might  be  fo.'  I 
could  hardly  have  imagined  among  friends,  that 
any  danger  could  have  arifen  from  my  expreffing  a. 
hope  that  the  Scriptures  were  true. 

However  thefe  falfe  friends  told  a  minifter, 
whom  for  a  number  of  years  I  had  efleemed  as  my 
beft  and  moft  intimate  friend,  that  I  was  turned 
heretic,  and  believed  the  doctrine  of  the  Univerfal 
Rejloration,  and  dcfired  him  to  convince  me.    Some 

time 


PREFACE.  xvii 

time  after  he  met  with  me  in  the  ftreet,  and  in  a 
very  abrupt  manner  told  me,  that  he  had  wanted 
to  fee  me  for  fome  time,  that  he  might  give  me  a 
piece  of  his  mind  *,  that  he  had  been  informed  by 
iiich  a  perfon,  that  I  was  inclined  to  the  do6trine 
of  the  Umverfal  Rejloration^  and  then,  inftead  of 
ufing  any  argument  to  convince  me,  or  taking  any 
method  for  my  recovery,  added  this  laconic  fpeech, 
'  If  you  embrace  this  fentiment,  I  fiiall  no  longer 
own  you  for  a  brother.'  And  he  has  hitherto  been 
as  good  as  his  word,  having  never  written  nor 
fpoken  to  me  from  that  day  to  this ;  and  when  I 
have  fince  offered  to  fhake  hands  with  him,  he  has 
refufed ;  and  yet  he  was  one  whom  I  efteemed 
above  any  other  on  earth,  as  a  hearty,  fincere, 
long-tried,  and  faithful  friend.  If  my  intimate 
friend  treated  me  in  fuch  a  manner,  what  had  I 
not  to  ex  peel:  from  my  open  and  avowed  ene- 
mies ? 

I  now  forefaw  the  florin,  and  I  determined  to 
prepare  for  it,  not  by  denying  what  I  had  faid, 
but  by  examining  and  determining  for  myfelf, 
whether  the  fentiment  was  according  to  Scripture 
or  not.  If  I  found  that  it  was  not,  I  was  deter- 
mined to  retract,  but  if  it  was,  to  hold  it  fait,  let 
the  confequences  be  what  they  might.  I  had  now 
no  time  to  lofe,  I  expected  in  a  fhort  time  to  be 
called  to  an  account,  and  examined  refpecting  this 
doctrine,  and  obliged  either  to  defen d  or  deny  it ;  I 
was  already  too  well  perfuaded  that  it  was  true,  to 
do  the  latter  without  heftation,  and  yet  not  fuffi- 
ciently  for  the  former.  For  this  purpofe,  I  (hut 
myfelf  up  chiefly  in  my  chamber,  read  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  pra)edto  God  to  lead  me  into  all  truth, 
and  not  fuffer  me  to  embrace  any  error  5  and  I 

think 


xviii  PREFACE. 

think  that  with  an  upright  mind,  I  laid  myfelf 
cpen  to  believe  whatever  the  Lord  had  revealed. 
It  would  be  too  long  to  tell  all  the  teachings  I  had 
on  this  head  •,  let  it  iuffice,  in  fliort,  to  fay,  That 
I  became  lb  well  perfuaded  of  the  truth  of  the 
XJniverfal  Ke/hration,  that  I  was  determined  never 
to  deny  it,  let  it  coft  me  ever  fo  mu<_h,  though 
all  my  numerous  friends  mould  forfike  me,  as  I 
expected  they  would,  and  though  I  mould  be  dri- 
ven from  men,  and  obliged  to  dwell  in  caves  or 
dtens  of  the  earth,  and  feed  on  wild  roots  and  ve- 
getables, and  fufFer  the  lofs  of  all  things,  friends, 
wealth,  fame,  health,  character,  and  even  life  itfelf. 
The  truth  appeared  to  me  more  valuable  than  all 
things,  and  as  I  had  found  it,  I  was  determined 
never  to  part  with  it,  let  what  would  be  offered  in 
exchange. 

I  had  now  formed  my  refolution,  and  was  de- 
termined how  to  aft  when  the  trial  came.  Hitherto 
I  had  faid  nothing  about  the  ReJIoraiion  in  public, 
and  but  little  in  private  ;  but  I  preached  up  the 
death  of  Chrifl:,  and  falvationfor  mankind  through 
him,  without  reitriftion.  This  free  manner  of 
preaching  gave  otFence  to  fome,  who  came  to  hear 
me  no  more.  On  the  evening  of  the  2 2d  of  Janu- 
ary 1 78 1,  a  number  of  the  members  of  the  church, 
who  had  heard  that  I  held  the  deftrine  of  the 
Reft  oration,  met  me  at  a  friend's  houfe,  to  afk  me 
the  queftion,  Whether  I  did  or.  not  ?  I  acknow- 
ledged that  I  did,  but  did  not  wifh  to  trouble  any 
body  with  my  fentiments.  They  defired  me  neither 
to  preach  them  in  public,  nor  to  converfe  of  them 
in  private.  I  told  them,  That  if  they  would  pre- 
vent people  from  afking  me,  I  would  fay  nothing 
upon  the  matter  \  but  if  people  afked  mc  concern- 
ing 


r  R  E  F  A  C  E.  xix 

ing  my  fentirnents,  I  could  not  deny  them,  and  if 
they  wifhed  to  know  the  reafons,  I  mu-fr,  inform 
them.  And  thus  the  matter  was  to  reft ;  but  fome 
that  v/ere  prefeut,  wifhed  to  know  the  foundation 
or  my  fentirnents,  others  oppofed  it,  not  wifhing 
to  hear  any  thing  in  its  favour.  At  length  it  was 
agreed  that  I  might  read  the  pafTages  of  Scripture 
upon  which  I  judged  the  doctrine  of  the  ReJIora- 
tion  to  be  founded,  but  rnufr.  not  add  a  fmgle  word 
of  explanation  on  my  part,  and  on  their  parts  they 
were  not  to  afk  any  queftions,  or  make  the  leafi 
oppofition,  for  if  they  did,  I  infilled  upon  the  li- 
berty of  defending. 

Accordingly  I  took  the  Bible,  and  read  many 
pafTages  in  the  Old  and  New  Teltaments,  which  I 
judged  to  contain  the  doctrine  •,  and  the  very  read- 
ing of  them  convinced  feveral  of  the  company  of 
the  truth  of  the  Rejloration.  There  was  nothing 
farther  took  place  at  that  time :  we  parted  with  a 
mutual  agreement ;  I  was  not  to  preach  it  in  the 
pulpit,  nor  to  introduce  it  in  converfation,  but  I 
would  not  be  obliged  to  deny  it,  when  afked,  nor 
to  refufeto  vindicate  it,  if  oppofed:  and  on  their 
parts  they  were  not  to  fpeakof  it  to  my  prejudice, 
but  to  endeavour  as  much  as  pcdible,  to  keep  the 
the  matter  clofe,  and  fo  we  parted.  But  notwiths- 
tanding all  the  pains  that  could  be  taken,  the 
matter  got  abroad,  and  feveral  came  to  difcourfe 
with  me  on  my  principles,  to  whom  I  gave  fuch 
reafons  as  I  was  able  for  what  I  believed.  A  lit- 
tle after  this  time,  I  met  with  another  copy  of  the 
£vcrlir/li;;g  Gcfpel,  which  I  then  read  through  with 
attention  for  the  ririt.  time,  and  found  much  fatis- 
facTion  •,  the  arguments  and  Scripture  proofs 
therein  contained,  feeraed  to  me  fufficient  to  con- 
vince 


xx  PREFACE. 

vince  all  that  would  read  with  candour  and  atten- 
tion. 

I  ftill  continued  to  act  only  on  the  defenfive,  not 
preaching  upon  the  fubject,  nor  going  about  to 
private  houfes  to  make  intereft  in  my  favour ;  but 
if  any  came  to  me  and  wiflied  me  to  difcourfeupon 
it,  I  would  not  refufe  ;  and  thus  a  number  were 
convinced  of  its  truth,  while  others  violently  op- 
pofed  it.  And  thus  matters  continued  until  the 
latter  end  of  March.  Having  heard  that  the  Ger- 
man Baptifts  in  Germantown,  about  8  miles  from 
Philadelphia  held  the  doctrine  of  the  Reparation,  I 
had  appointed  to  fpend  the  firft  Sunday  in  April 
with  them  ;  and  this  engagement  had  been  made 
fometime.  J  lift  as  I  was  ready  to  go  out  of  the 
city  on  Saturday,  I  found  that  fome  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  had  privately  fent  into  the 
country,  and  collected  a  number  of  the  ablefl:  mi- 
ni Iters,  who  were  arrived  in  the  city  on  purpofe  to 
debate,  I  gave  them  the  liberty  of  my  pulpit  as 
they  pleafed  for  the  next  day,  aud  went  out  of  the 
city  to  go  to  Germantown  ;  and  took  that  opportu- 
nity to  go  and  vifit  that  ancient,  venerable,  and  ex- 
cellent man,  Dr  George  De  Benneville,  who  receiv- 
ed me  in  the  molt  kind,  open,  and  friendly  manner  ; 
and  his  converfation  was  molt  highly  edifying  to 
me.  Afterwards  I  went  to  Germantown%  and 
lodged  there  all  night,  ready  to  preach  the  next 
day.  As  foon  as  my  enemies  in  Philadelphia  found 
that  I  was  gone  out  of  the  city,  they  fpread  a  re- 
port that  I  had  fled  to  avoid  an  interview  with 
thefe  minifters,  who  had  come  on  purpofe  to  con- 
vince me.  Nothing  could  have  been  more  falfe, 
than  fuch  a  report,  for  I  had  been  engaged  to  go 
to  Germantown,  on  that  day,  for   feveral  weeks 

before- 


PREFACE.  xxi 

beforehand  :  I  knew  nothing  of  thefe  Minifters  be- 
ing fent  for  until  they  came  to  town  j  and  I  had 
no  fear  but  I  fhould  be  able,  by  God's  afliftance, 
to  defend  the  cauie  before  them  •,  and  befides,  I 
had  appointed  to  return  on  Monday,  and  did  re- 
turn accordingly.     The  whole  Church  met,  both 
my  friends  and  my  oppofers,  and  thefe  Minifters 
met  with  them.     I  was  called  to  attend  a  funeral 
at  the  time,  and  was  at  the  houfe  of  mourning, 
when  a  ^effenger  was  fent  in  hafte,  to  defire  my 
immediate  attendance  at  the  meeting  without  any 
delay.     I  fouod  that  thofe  who  were  my  enemies 
in  the   aiTembly,  had  been  greatly  vaunting  over 
my  friends,  becaufe  I  was  not  prefent.     They  faid 
I  had  abfeonded  merely  to  avoid  a  debate,  in  which 
I  was  fure  to  be  confuted,  as  here  was  an  oppor- 
tunity that  might  never  prefent  itfelf  again  j  and 
feven  wife,  able,  and  learned  Minifters  had  aiTem- 
bled  on  purpofe  to  difpute  with  me,  but  that  I  had 
gone,  and  left  my  adherents  in  the  lurch,  from  a 
confeioufnefs  that  I  was  not  able  to  defend  my 
caufe  ;  with  abundance  more  to  the  fame  purpofe. 
My  friends,  on  the  other  hand,  told  them,  That 
I  was  afraid  of  nothing  but  fin,  and  that  they 
doubted  not  of  my  being  able  and  willing  to  dif- 
pute with  any  one  of  the  gentlemen,  or  all  of  them, 
one  by  one,  if  they  chofe  it.     O,  no  •,  they  repli- 
ed, they  knew  better  than  that,  I  was  gone  out  of 
the  way  on  purpofe,  where  I  could  not  be  found. 
My  friends  told  them,  That  if  there  was  a  vote 
paft  in  the  afTembly  that  I  fhould  difpute  with  any 
©ne,  they  would  engage  that  I  would  be  among 
them  in  a  few  minutes.     It  was  accordingly  una- 
nimoufly  voted,  that  I  fhould  difpute  with  the 
Rev.  Mr.  JBoggSf  upon  my  fentisnents,  in  the  pre- 

fence 


xxff  PREFACE. 

fence  of  thefe  Minifters,  and  of  the  whole  aflem- 
bly.  But  when  in  a  few  minutes  I  came  in,  and 
took  my  place,  what  diiferent  countenances  ap- 
peared in  the  congregation  ?  All  my  friends  were 
highly  pleafed,  and  the  others  were  as  much  con- 
founded and  difappointed,  at  feeing  me  come  in  fo 
chearfully  and  quickly,  after  they  had  made  them- 
felves  fo  fure,  that  I  would  not  come.  But  fure- 
ly,  I  might  have  been  looked  upon  with  pity  ; 
alone  to  anfwer  for  myfelf,  no  one  to  fupport  me ; 
while  my  antagonifts  were  feven  of  the  ableft  Mi- 
nifters that  could  be  obtained.  I  felt,  however, 
that  inward  compofure,  from  a  confcioufnels  of 
having  acted  uprightly  and  fincerely  in  the  whole 
affair,  that  even  caufed  my  countenance  to  appear 
eafy  and  chearful. 

The  vote  was  then  publicly  read,  and  I  ftood 
up,  and  declared  my  readinefs  to  comply  with  what 
was  required.  The  worthy  gentleman  who  was 
chofen  to  difpute  with  me,  then  rofe  up,  and  faid 
thefe  words,  (  I  am  not  prepared  to  difpute  with 
Mr.  Wincheftery  I  have  heard  that  he  fays,  That 
it  would  take  fix  weeks  to  canvafs  all  the  argu- 
ments fairly  on  both  fides  ;  and  I  fuppofe  he  has 
been  ftudying  upon  the  fubjecr.  for  a  week  or  more, 
and  I  have  not  ftudied  it  at  all  \  and  therefore  I 
muft  beg  to  be  excufed.' 

When  I  found  that  he,  and  all  the  red:  wholly 
declined  difputing  with  me,  I  begged  liberty  to 
fpeak  for  two  hours  upon  my  fentiments,  and  lay 
them  fairly  open,  and  the  ground  upon  which  I 
maintained  them.  But  this  was  denied  me ;  I 
then  defired  them  to  give  me  one  hour  for  this 
purpofe  \  but  this  was  alio  refufed.  One  of  the 
Minifters  got  up,  and  faid,  That   their  bufinefs 

was 


PREFACE.  xxlii 

was  not  to  debate  with  me,  but  to  afk  me,  whe- 
ther I  believed  the  Reficration  of  bad  men  and 
angels,  finally  to  a  ftate  of  holincfs  and  happinefs, 
&c. 

But  if  they  did  not  come  to  difpute  with  me, 
why  was  the  vote  pafTed  by  their  party,  as  well  as 
by  my  friends,  that  I  lhould  difpute  with  them  ? 
This  fpeaks  for  itfelf.  The  minifters  infilled  upo«i 
putting  the  queflion  to  me,  Do  you  believe  the- 
doctrine  of  the  Univerfal  Reftoration  P.  My  friends 
objected  to  my  anfwering  the  queition,  unlefs  I 
might  be  allowed  to  vindicate  my  fentiments.  But 
I  laid,  That  I  did  not  fear  any  ufe  that  could  be 
made  of  my  words  ;  that  I  had  always  freely  con- 
fefTed  what  my  thoughts  were,  when  afked ;  and 
therefore  I  told  them,  that  I  did  heartily  believe 
the  General  Re/ioratioti,  and  was  willing  to  defend 
it.  The  gentleman  that  was  chofen  to  difpute  with 
me,  then  aflced  me,  whether  I  thought  it  flrange, 
confidcring  my  change  of  fentiments,  that  there 
mould  be  fuch  a  noife  and  uproar  made  upon  the 
occafion  ?  &c.  I  told  him,  That  I  did  not  think  it 
flrange  at  all  j  and  gave  him  a  little  hiflory  of  the 
affair,  and  how  the  matter  came  abroad,  through 
the  treachery  of  fome  whom  I  had  efleemed  as  my 
friends  ;  that  when  I  mentioned  it  to  them  I  was 
not  fully  perfuaded  of  it  myfelf,  and  perhaps  ne- 
ver might  have  been,  if  I  had  not  been  oppofed 
and  threatened  ;  that  I  never  had  intended  to  trou- 
ble the  people  with  my  fentiments,  but  was  willing 
to  live  and  die  with  them,  if  they  could  bear  with 
me ;  but  that  I  could  not  ufe  fo  much  deceit,  as 
to  deny  what  I  believed,  when  afked  by  any  one  -9 
that  I  never  had  yet  done  fo,  and  by  the  grace  of 
God  never  would,  let  the  conlequences  be  what 

they 


xxir  PREFACE. 

they  might.  What  I  faid  was  in  the  prefence  of 
all  my  accufers,  and  none  of  them  could  contra- 
dict me,  nor  had  aught  to  lay  to  my  charge,  ex- 
cept in  this  matter  of  the  Gofpel  of  my  Saviour. 
My  difcourfe  took  fuch  an  effect  upon  him,  that 
he  then  publicly  declared,  that  my  behaviour  in 
the  whole  affair  had  been  as  became  a  man  and  a 
chrijlian,  and  that  no  one  could  accufe  me  of  any 
improper  conduct.  I  flood  fometime,  and  as  none 
appeared  to  have  any  thing  farther  to  fay  to  me,  I 
took  my  leave,  and  went  out.  He  accompanied 
me  to  the  door,  and  told  me  that  he  would  write 
to  me  upon  the  fubject ;  but  whatever  was  the 
reafon,  he  never  did,  nor  have  we  fpoken  together 
fince. 

The  Minifters  then  advifed  the  people  to  get  an- 
other Minifter  \  but  my  friends  being  numerous, 
infifted  it  fhould  be  fairly  determined  by  the  fub- 
fcribers  at  large  ;  but  this  the  other  party  would 
not  agree  to.     Several  very  fair  offers  were  made 
by  my  friends  to  them,  but  they  refufed  them  all ; 
and  finalfy,  by  force  they  kept  us  out  of  the  houfe, 
and  deprived  us  of  our  part  of  the  property,  which 
was  at  laft  confirmed  to  them  by  law,  though  I 
think  unjuftly,  as  we  were  the  majority  at  firfl ; 
but  they  took  uncommon  pains  in  carrying  about 
a  protejl  againfl  me,  to  every  member  of  the  church, 
both  in  the  city  and  in  the  country,  and  threaten- 
ing all  with  excommunication  who  would  not  fign 
it  5  by  which  fome  were  intimidated,  and  by  thefe 
and  other  means  they  ftrengthened  their  party. 
But  on  the  other  hand,  I  took  no  pains,  either  to 
profelyte  people  to  believe  my  fentiments  or  to  make 
my  party  ftrong.     But  I  believe  near  an  hundred 
of  the  members  fuffered  themfelves  to  be  excom- 
municated 


PREFACE.  xxv 

municated  rather  than  to  fign  the protefl  againfl  me, 

and  the  doctrine  that  I  preached.   When  we  were 

deprived  of  our  houfe  of  worfhip,  the  truflees  of 

the  Univerfity  gave  us  the  liberty  of  their  hall, 

where  we  quietly  worshipped  God  for  about  four 

years,  until  we  purchafed  a  place  for  ourfelves. 

But  to  return.     After  this  meeting  of  the  Minif- 

ters,  the  whole  affair  was  open,  and  I  found  my- 

ielf  obliged  to  vindicate  the  doctrine  which  they 

had  condemned  unheard,  not  only  in  private,  but 

in  the  pulpit.     Accordingly,  on  the  2 2d  day  of 

April,  I  preached  a  fermon  on  Gen.  iii.   15.  in 

which  I  openly  afTerted  the  doclrine  of  the  Final 

and  Univerfal  Refloration  of  all  fallen  intelligences. 

This  was  publifhed  by  particular  defire,  with  a  lift 

of  the  plaineft  Scripture  pafTages  in  favour  of  the 

doctrine  ;  and  a  number  of  the  moft  common  and 

principal  objections,  fairly  ftated,  and  anfwered. 

This  was  my  firft  appearance  in  the  world  as  a 

profe  writer,  which  was  what  I  never  expected  to 

be,  and  probably  mould  never  have  been  but  for 

this  occafion  ;  ftill  lefs  a  writer  of  controverfy,  to 

which  I  had  naturally  a  great  averfion. 

After  I  had  preached  this  fermon,  I  had  the 
Chevalier  Ramfeys  Philofophical  Principles  of  Natu- 
ral and  Revealed  Religion  put  into  my  hands  j  I 
read  the  fame  with  great  pleafure  and  advantage, 
and  I  mull  acknowledge  it  to  be  a  work  of  great 
merit,  and  I  have  reafon  to  blefs  God  that  ever  I 
had  opportunity  of  reading  it.  I  can  heartily  re- 
commend it,  as  one  of  the  beft  works  in  our  lan- 
guage j  and  1  muft  fay,  that  in  moft  things  I  fully 
agree  with  that  very  intelligent  author.  On  the 
fourth  day  of  January  1782,  I  preached  the  fer- 
mon called,  The  Outcajls  Comforted;  from  Ifaiah 
b  lxv 


xxvi  PREFACE. 

lxvi.  5.  to  my  friends  who  had  been  caftout,  and 
excommunicated,  for  believing  this  glorious  doc- 
trine. This  was  foon  after  printed,  and  the  next 
year  it  was  republifhed  in  London,  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Richard  Clark,  and  was  thefirftof  my  works 
ever  printed  here. 

I  have  thus  given  a  brief,  plain,  and  fimple  ac- 
count of  the  means  that  have  brought  me  to  think 
and  write  in  the  manner  that  I  have  done,  and 
which  account  may  be  confidered  as  an  hiflorical 
fketch  of  nearly  four  years  of  my  life. 

I  have  every  year  fince  printed  and  publiihed 
fomething,  which  I  judged  might  be  ufeful  to  my 
fellow-creatures  *,  but  as  my  works  are  in  the  hands 
of  molf  of  my  friends,  it  is  not  necefTary  to  give 
a  particular  account  of  any  of  them  here,  except 
this  book  of  Dialogues  oti  the  XJniverfal  Rejloration. 
I  have  had  many  difcourfes  with  various  perfons 
upon  this  fubject,  and  many  objections  have  been 
propofed  to  me,  which  I  have  endeavoured  to  an- 
iwer  •,  and  I  can  truly  fay,  that  thefe  difcourfes, 
their  queftions,  and  my  aniwers,  their  objections, 
and  my  folutions,  form  the  bulk  of  thefe  Dialogues. 
I  have  endeavoured  to  give  all  the  poflible  force  to 
their  objections,  and  if  any  of  them  are  weak,  I 
can  a(iure  the  Public,  that  I  have  not  made  them 
fo  (as  fome  have  infinuated)  merely  that  I  might 
be  able  to  anfwer  them,  but  the  weakeft  of  them 
have  been  propofed  to  me,  and  I  have  fairly  fet 
down  the  mod  powerful  that  I  ever  heard,  gene- 
rally in  the  very  words  in  which  they  were  ad- 
dreiTed  to  me,  whether  in  converfation,  or  by  let- 
ter •,  and  I  am  willing  if  ftronger  objections  can 
be  made,  to  put  them  in  the  place  of  thofe  which 
I  have  fet  down,  or  add  them  to  the  number ;  and  I 
1  have 


PREFACE.  xxvii 

have  in  this  new  edition  added  a  few,  which  I  have 
heard  fince  the  work  was  firft  published,  and  ef- 
pecially  one  which  was  fent  me  by  a  venerable 
Minifter,  from  America,  and  which  1  have  largely 
anfwered. 

I  have  the  fatisfaftion  of  knowing  not  only 
that  thefe  Dialogues  have  been  well  received,  but 
that  they  have  been  the  means  of  bringing  many 
perlbns  to  the  belief  of  the  truth  of  the  Univerfal 
Refloration,  and  have  flrengthened  and  confirmed 
others,  as  will  plainly  appear  from  the  following 
extracts  of  letters,  which  I  have  received  from 
feveral  Minifters  in  different  parts  of  the  kingdom, 
fince  their  publication. 

Wijbich,   Oclober  16,    1 788. 
1  Dear  Sir, 

*  I  AM  perfuaded  your  knowledge  of 
the  world  and  its  inhabitants,  hath  long  fince 
taught  you  to  be  familiar  with  the  addreffes  of 
perfons  unknown  to  you  ;  and  I  have  formed  that 
opinion  of  you,  that  your  candour  will  admit, 
and  your  generous  mind  rejoice  to  hear,  that  a 
perlbn,  though  unknown  to  you,  is  convinced 
that  God  hath  gracious  defigns  towards  univerfal 
man.  I  am  that  perlbn,  Sir.  For  fome  time  paft 
I  have  entertained  doubts  with  refpect  to  the  eter- 
nity  of  hell  torments.  My  doubts  principally  arole 
from  the  confideration  of  the  vaft  difproportion  be- 
tween momentary  crimes,  committed  in  this  fhort  life, 
and  the  fuffering  infinitude  of  puniihment :  yet  ma- 
ny difficulties  lay  in  my  way  that  I  did  not  know 
how  to  remove,  and  I  continued  thus  embarraflcd, 
until  a  fhort  time  fince  I  had  the  happinefs  to  meet 
with  your  Dialogues  on  the  Univerfal  Refloration, 
b  2  which, 


xxviii  PREFACE. 

which,  I  thank  God,  have  helped  me  much.  My 
ardent  prayer  is,  that  the  truth  may  fpread,  that 
the  word  of  the  Lord  may  run  and  be  glorified. 

*  My  good  friend,  Mr.  F ,  fhewed  me  your 

letter  to  him,  by  which  I  fee  your  readinefs  to  ferve 
the  caufe  of  our  great  Head,  Chrifl  Jefus,  and 
your  willingnefs  to  vifit  the  country,  provided  the 
way  is  open.  Now,  Sir,  1  can  only  fay,  That 
my  houfe,  and  my  heart,  and  my  pulpit  wiil  be 
all  open  to  receive  you,  provided  you  will  vifit  us 
in  this  part  of  the  world. 

«  I  remain,  with  the  utmofl  refpecl, 
Dear  Sir, 
Your  fincere  friend, 

Henyr  Poole.' 


c  Dear  Sir, 

'  THOUGH  perfonally  unknown,  have 
taken  the  liberty  of  addreffing  you  with  a  few  lines. 
I  was  lately  in  London,  and  called  to  fee  you  ;  but 
was  told  you  were  out  of  town.  Have  for  fome 
time  had  the  pleafure  of  reading  your  Dialogues, 
much  to  my  latisfaction. 

'  The  fubjecl  of  Univerfal  Refutation  has  for  ma- 
ny years  engaged  my  thoughts  at  times,  and  often 
appeared  in  an  amiable  light  to  my  mind.  It  is  a 
fubjecT:  that  redounds  to  the  everlafting  honour  of 
God,  and  the  everlafting  felicity  of  the  rational 
creature,  who,  when  delivered  from  mifery,  mall 
be  fully  fenfible  of  the  obligations  due  to  the  De- 
liverer, and  confequently,  fhall  naturally  be  en- 
gaged in  the  great  and  delightful  work  of  praifing 

and 


PREFACE.  xxix 

and  honouring  both  the  Author  and  Accompliftier 
of  the  great  falvation. 

c  My  residence  is  at  Lynhurfl,  in  the  New  Fore/}, 
Hants >  where  I  am  paftor  over  a  little  church  of 
General  Baptifts,  of  which  denomination  I  am  in- 
formed yon  arc  \  but  be  that  as  it  may,  it  is  no 
fmall  pleaiure  to  me  to  find  men,  of  whatever  de- 
nomination, vindicate  the  goodnefs  of  God,  in  the 
manner  it  is  done  by  the  doctrine  of  Univerfal 
Rejloration. 

*  Should  inclination  or  leifure  ever  favour  your 
coming  this  way,  I  know  not  who  I  fhall  be 
more  happy  to  fee  and  enjoy.  Permit  me  to  fub- 
fcribe  myfelf, 

f  Your  affectionate  brother, 
In  the  Gofpel  of  univerfal  love, 
Adam  Aldridge.' 

LyndhurJ},  December  4,   1789. 


s  Tork}  March  <5,    1790. 

#  Rev.  and  dear  Sir, 

*  I  HOPE  you  willexcufe  the  freedom 
I  have  taken  in  writing  to  you. 

*  I  have  for  feveral  years  embraced  your  fenti- 
ments,  and  have  often  flood  up  in  defence  of  them. 

•  I  have  frequently  met  with  learned  and  can- 
did men,  who  have  given  me  much  fatisfaction  in 
this  important  fubject.  When  your  Dialogues 
were  publiihed,  I  procured  and  read  them  with 
the  greateft  avidity.  I  found  the  fubject  handled 
much  to  my  mind.     The  ftrongeft  objections  raif- 

b  3  ed 


xxx  PREFACE. 

in  all  their  weight  and  importance,  and  anfwered 
clearly  and  candidly.  I  read  the  book,  over  and 
over,  with  frefh  pleafure  and  fatisfa&ion.  I  fludi- 
ed  the  arguments,  treafured  them  up  in  my  me- 
mory, and  determined  to  become  a  defender  of  this 
part  of  truth.  My  heart  burnt  in  love  to  God 
and  mankind.  I  found  exalted  views  of  God, 
raifed  exalted  flrains  of  gratitude  and  praife.  It 
was  one  of  the  flrongeft  and  moil  attracting  views 
that  ever  I  met  with  fince  I  knew  the  Saviour's 
love.  I  foon  entered  the  field,  and  was  obliged 
to  prove  my  armour  againft  the  ftrongeit  objec- 
tions, backed  with  prejudices  almofl  of  an  invin- 
cible nature.  When  I  was  hard  put  to  it,  I  had 
recourfe  to  your  Magazine,  and  from  thence 
brought  forth  new  pieces  of  artillery.  You  will 
eafily  fuppofe  I  had  many  trials  from  perfons  of 
different  difpofitions.  By  perfuading  feveral  of  my 
acquaintance,  Minifters  of  the  Gofpel,  to  read  over 
your  book,  I  became  an  inflrument  of  winning 
them  over  to  the  truth. 

«  One  of  my  brethren  in  the  miniflry  protected 
much  againft  our  notions,  and  declared  he  would 
never  believe  them.  Knowing  him  to  be  a  fenfible 
man,  and  one  who  might  be  wrought  upon  by  the 
force  of  truth  properly  ftated,  I  uled  feveral  argu- 
ments to  perfuade  him  to  read  the  book.  At  length 
he  confented,  and  faid,  that  he  would  do  it  to 
oblige  me,  but  was  determined  not  to  believe  it.  I 
told  him,  it  would  fatisfy  me  for  him  to  give  it  a 
candid  reading. 

«  When  we  met  again,  I  began  to  enquire  what 
he  thought  of  the  book.  He  paufed  a  little,  and 
then  freely  acknowledged  the  effect  that  it  had 
had  upon  him — He  frankly  declared  that  his  refo- 

tion 


P  R  E  F  A  C  E.  xxxi 

tion  was  juft  the  fame,  as  though  he  had  refolved 
to  look  up  to  the  Heavens  when  the  fun  fhone 
at  noon,  and  not  to  believe  that  it  fhone.  I  have 
fecretly  engaged  feveral,  and  find  when  they  are 
fenfible,  candid  men,  they  fall  in  with  your  fenti- 
ments  at  once. 

<  I  am  acquainted  with  about  half  a  fcore  Mi- 
nifters,  who  firmly  believe  and  heartily  embrace 
the  doctrine  ;  befides  many  private  chriftians  of 
different  denominations.  Mofl  of  us  Miniflers, 
who  fall  in  with  your  fentiments,  are  afraid  of 
confefling  them  publicly,  for  this  reafbn,  our  peo- 
ple would  thrufl  us  out  of  the  fynagogues,  and 
we  and  our  families  might  fuffer  thereby.  For 
my  own  part,  I  am  determined  to  ftand  by  this 
truth,  whether  I  can  continue  my  place  among  the 
people  where  I  am  or  not.  Rather  than  give  up 
this  (through  grace)  I  would  give  up  life. 

1  I  have  fo  much  zeal  in  my  heart  for  the  con- 
firmation and  eftablifhment  of  this  truth,  that  I 
would,  were  it  in  my  power,  gladjy  profelyte 
all  men  to  embrace  and  enjoy  the  benefit  of  it. 

1  I  hope  you  will  mufler  up  all  your  refolution, 
and  ftand  forth  boldly  again  in  vindication  of  the 
caufe  of  truth,  and  the  moft  glorious  and  moft  ne- 
glected part  of  that  truth  that  all  men  ought  to 
embrace.  I  fear  left  the  enemy  (hall  caufe  a  fhout 
of  triumph  if  you  refufe  again  to  engage,  and  do 
not  come  forth  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  againft 
the  mighty.  Pleafe  to  inform  me  if  you  want  any 
help  where  you  are  •,  I  have  fome  little  for- 
tune, and  would  engage  in  promoting  the  work 
of  God,  without  being  wholly  dependent  on  any 
people. 

b  4  <  Direct 


xxxii  PREFACE. 

•  Direct:  to  J.  P.  at  Mr.  John  Brown's  Bookfeller, 
Pocklington,  York/hire. 

«  Sincerely  praying  for  the  fuccefs  of  your  la- 
bours, and  your  welfare  of  body  and  mind, 

« I  am  in  truth,  your  affectionate  friend, 

And  fervant  in  Christ  Jesus/ 


€  Ayle/bt/ry,  September  lid,    1790. 

«  Rev.  and  dear  Sir, 

*  AN  anxious  defire  of  a  more  intimate 
acquaintance  with  you  induces  me  to  take  this  li- 
berty of  writing  to  you,  hoping  you  will  excufe 
my  freedom  ;  undoubtedly  it  will  appear  ftrange, 
that  one  you  never  law  nor  heard  of,  mould  take 
inch  liberty.  But  as  a  foe  to  flattery,  I  juil 
give  you  this  fhort  account  of  my  firir  know- 
ledge of  you  5  which  was  only  by  the  hearing  of 
the  ear. 

c  Something  more  than  a  year  ago,  I  was  told 
that  there  was  a  preacher  juft  come  to  London,  an 
American  by  birth,  who  had  undertaken  to  preach 
an  Univerfal  Rejloration  to  loft  fouls.  Ab  it  was 
new  to  me,  I  was  much  furprifed  at  this  frrange 
account,  and  I  thought  and  faid,  (though  with 
Ibme  degree  of  candour)  that  I  looked  upon  it  to 
be  fome  one  that  could  not  dig,  and  was  afhamed 
to  beg,  fo  to  procure  a  living  he  had  written  this 
book.  Here  1  refted  for  fome  time,  thinking  that 
much  hurt  would  be  done  thereby ;  till  the  laft 
time  I  faw  Mr.  Atkins,  (who  I  understand  is  now 
in  connection  with  you)  he  gave  me  fome  further 

account 


PREFACE.  xxxiii 

account  of  you  and  your  doctrine.  But  I  could 
not  underftand  it  from  his  account  •,  yet  he  perfifted 
I  mould  believe  it,  if  I  was  to  read  your  Dialogues. 
I  told  him  I  would  give  them  a  fair  reading,  if  I 
could  fee  them.  Still  I  entertained  the  fameftrange 
idea  as  before.  The  next  account  I  had  was  from 
a  young  man  of  Berkhampjlead,  who  came  to  fee 
me,  and  in  our  difcourfe,  I  faid,  t  Some  of  your 
people  have  imbibed  a  new  doctrine,  I  hear.'  He 
faid,  t  Yes,  and  I  verily  believe  it  a  truth.'  I  was 
now  more  furprifed  than  before  ;  but  he  faid,  if  I 
was  to  fee  it  he  had  no  doubt  but  I  mould  believe 
it  alfo.  <  Well,'  faid  I  <  if  I  could  fee  the  book  I 
would  lay  prejudice  afide,  and  give  it  a  fair  read- 
ing, let  it  be  what  it  may/  He  very  kindly  told. 
me,  that  as  foon  as  he  could  get  it  home,  (for  he 
had  lent  it  to  a  friend)  he  would  fend  it  to  me.  I 
thanked  him,  and  promifed  to  read  it  impartially, 
knowing  that  where  party  fpirit  reigns,  blindnefs 
takes  place. 

«  According  to  promlfe,  he  fent  the  book  :  and 
as  I  had  done  before,  I  now  laid  the  matter  before 
the  Lord,  with  this  petition,  that  he  would  not 
fuffer  me  to  be  milled,  or  wander  out  of  the  way, 
as  I  knew  that  he  knew  my  defire  and  intention. 
I  was  delivered  from  fear,  and  with  candour  and 
confidence  I  began  to  read  my  new  book,  and  to 
my  great  aftonifhment,  yet  to  my  greater  joy,  I 
found  what  I  had  many  times  wiftied  for  fecretly 
in  my  heart,  namely,  the  poflibility  of  a  releafe 
for  thofe  poor  fufFerers,  and  not  only  fo,  but  like- 
wife  the  certainty  of  it ;  for  as  I  read  on,  I  could 
not  but  fee,  that  it  was  the  determination  of  Je- 
hovah to  make  all  men,  as  his  creatures,  happy 
in  himfelf.  O  with  what  eyes  did  I  now  view  the 
b  5  Deity, 


xxxiv  PREFACE. 

Deity,  and  what  ideas  did  I  entertain  of  him  to 
what  ffiad  ever  done  before!  (though  I  was  on 
the  general  plan)  O  how  my  foul  was  filled  with 
love  !  what  gratitude  did  I  feel  to  that  God,  who 
I  now  faw  fo  loved  all  his  creatures,  as  to  give  his 
only  Son  to  die,  with  a  pure  defign  to  glorify  him- 
felf  in  the  falvation  of  every  foul  !  I  now  faw  him 
a  God  of  love  indeed,  but  it  is  out  of  my  power  to 
tell  fully  the  happy  efFecl  it  had,  and  has  now  up- 
on my  mind  ;  but  it  is  fomething  like  what  I  expe- 
rienced, when  the  Lord  firfl  fet  my  foul  at  liberty  ; 
as  I  was  then  fwallowed  up,  as  in  the  vifion  of 
God.  But  the  bignefs  of  this  meet  is  not  fuifici- 
ent  to  tell  you  all  I  could  wifh,  but  I  trull:  I  mail 
fee  you  in  perfon,  as  I  mould  efteem  it  a  privilege 
indeed  to  hear  you  preach,  and  to  converfe  with 
you,  and  I  fully  intended  coming  to  Louden  about 
laif  May,  on  purpofe,  but  as  I  had  already  a  large 
family  which,  through  the  blefling  of  God,  I  main- 
tain with  my  labour  -,  finding  it  likely  to  increafe, 
I  could  not  well  fpare  time  to  come,  or  I  had 
been  with  you  at  that  feafon,  as  I  had  nothing 
elfe  in  my  way  to  hinder.  Mr.  John  Holder ,  of 
Tring,  an  acquaintance  of  mine,  has  lent  me  a  few 
little  tracls  of  yours,  which  I  am  now  reading 
with  pleafure  and  profit,  and  he  has  kindly  offer- 
ed himfelf  to  accompany  me  at  any  time  that  I 
fhall  appoint  to  come  and  fee  yon,  but  the  fame 
difficulty  is  now  in  the  way  as  before.  If  ever 
Providence  mould  open  a  way,  I  fhall  gladly  em- 
brace the  opportunity.  Though  I  have  nu  doubt 
of  the  truth  of  the  doclrine  of  the  Refloration, 
as  to  myfelf,  I  have  never  fpoke  of  it  in  public  as 
yet,  not  knowing  whether  that  may  be  the  beff, 
way  to  make  this  glorious  falvation  known  ;  but  I 

have 


PREFACE.  xxxv 

have  fpoke  to  feveral  of  the  people  in  private,  thole 
whom  I  judged  to  have  the  beft  underftanding, 
and  the  moft  candour  ;  and  molt  of  thefe  feem  to 
be  glad  at  the  news,  and  my  own  wife  in  particu- 
lar embraces  it  with  all  thankfulnefs,  and  joins 
with  me  in  love  to  you  and  yours.  (Though  very 
ill  at  this  rime.)  If  it  will  not  be  attended  with 
too  much  trouble,  pleafe  to  fend  me  your  Dia- 
logues y  bound,  by  the  Aylejlury  ftage  coach.  I 
have  given  the  coachman  an  order  to  pay  the  ex- 
pence.  As  I  ftand  like  yourfelf  (in  this  refpect) 
unconnected  with  any  party,  (though  I  was  with 
Mr.  Wejleys  people  twelve  years,)  I  am  now  free, 
I  fruit  from  bigotry  and  prejudice,  open  to  con- 
viction, and  willing  for  inft ruction.  A  few  lines 
from  you  will  be  gratefully  acknowledged,  and 
thankfully  received,  by  your  affectionate,  though 
molt  unworthy,  may  I  fay,  brother  in  Chrift, 

'  Thomas  Higgins.' 

P.  S.  'I  pray  God  of  his  mercy  to  give  you  all 
the  wifdom  that  you  need,  to  make  this  great  fal- 
vation  more  fully  known,  as  I  believe  he  hath  raif- 
ed  you  up  for  this  purpofe,  and  that  a  double  por- 
tion of  his  Spirit  may  red:  upon  you,  and  that 
your  labours  may  be  crowned  with  more  abundant 
fuccefs,  till  the  Sun  of  Righteoufnefs  is  feen  in 
his  full  ftrength,  and  with  all  his  ability  to  fave. 

'  Direct  to  Thomas  Higgins,  Aylejlury,  Bucks* 

I  take  the  liberty  of  publifhing  thefe  Letters,, 
with  the  names  and  places  of  abode  of  the  writers,, 
as  a  kind  of  beginning  of  that  general  acquaint- 
ance1  which  I  fhould  wifh  to  fee  take  place  among 

all 


xxxvi  PREFACE. 

all  the  friends  of  this  doctrine  in  thefe  kingdoms. 
I  know  feveral  other  Minifters  in  England,  who 
believe  and  preach  the  Univerfal  Rejloration,  and  I 
trufl  their  numbers  will  increafe.  In  America, 
where  I  once  flood  almoft  in  thefe  views  alone, 
(among  thofe  who  fpeak  the  Englifh  tongue)  there 
are  now  many  who  tefrify  this  Gofpel  of  the  free 
univerfal  grace  of  God,  and  they  have  formed  a 
connection  of  focieties  on  this  plan,  who  meet  by 
their  reprefentatives  in  convention  yearly,  at  Phi- 
ladelphia,  and  I  could  wifh  a  plan  of  the  fame  na- 
ture might  be  adopted  in  this  country.  If  any 
thing  that  I  have  fpoken  or  written  may  be  of  ufe 
to  my  fellow  creatures,  and  may  tend  to  promote 
the  glory  of  God,  and  the  intereft  of  the  dear 
Redeemer  in  the  world,  I  fhall  have  the  fatisfac- 
tion  to  reflect,  that  I  have  not  wholly  lived  in  vain. 

London,  April  2>  1792° 


Contents 


Contents  of  the  Dialogues. 


DIALOGUE    I. 

\JbJECTION.— That  the  words  everlajl- 
ing,  eternal,  &c.  are  applied  to  the  punifh- 
ment  of  the  wicked  2 

Anfwer. — Thefe  words  are  but  feldom  appli- 
ed to  the  mifery  of  the  wicked ;  being  con- 
nected therewith  only  twice  in  the  Old 
Teftament,  and  but  fix  times  in  the  New  5 
and  are  full  as  often  conne&ed  with  things  4 
and  times  that  certainly  have  had,  or  will 
have  an  end,  as  they  are  with  the  mifery 
of  the  wicked  ;  which  cannot  therefore  be  5, 
certainly  inferred  from  thofe  words  being 
applied  to  it.  The  word  forever,  from 
which  the  word  everlajiing  is  derived,  is 
frequently  ufed  in  a  limited  fenfe ;  more 
than  fifty  pafTages  of  Scripture  referred  to 
where  it  is  evidently  ufed  in  that  manner  <> 

Objection. — But  the  words  for  ever  and  every 
are  applied  to  the  mifery  of  the  wicked  \ 
three  inftances  of  which  ara  produced, 
which  are  all  that  can  be  found         —  10 

Anfwer. — This  is  a  very  flrong  phrafe,  and 
would  be  judged  unanfwerable,  bat  for 
certain  considerations.  10 

I  If  the  phrafe  forever  a?id  ever  intends  any  pe- 
riod or  periods  longer  than  the  word 
forever,  then  there  muft  be  a  proportion, 
and  coniequently  both  muft  be  limited        1 1 


xxxvili  CONTENTS. 

Page. 
2  This  phrafe  as  applied  to  future  mifery  can- 
not intend  endlefs  duration,  fince  a  time 
will  come,  when  death,  pain,  and   for- 
row  (hall  be  no  more         1 1 

3.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  the  lake  of 

fire,  in  which  the  wicked  will  be  pu- 
nifhed  with  the  fecond  death,  will  be 
the  earth  dilTolved  by  the  general  con- 
flagration ;  and  that  the  new  earth  will 
be  formed  out  of  the  fame  mafs,  and 
confequently  the  lake  of  fire  fhall  at 
laft  be  no  more  1 2 

4.  There  will  come  a  total  ceffation  of  night       1  a 

5.  The  fame  words  are  ufed  full  as  often,  if 

not  oftener,  for  periods  that  mull  come 
to  an  end,  as  they  are  for  the  ages  of 
future  mifery  13 

6.  Unlefs  we  allow    this    phrafe,    however 

flrong,  to  intend  ages  and  periods,  we 
fhould  let  the  Scripture  at  variance  with 
itfelf,  neither  would  it  be  poiTible  to  re- 
concile feveral  palTages  that  are  men- 
tioned    14 

Objection. — Forever  when  applied  to  things 
of  this  life  and  world  may  end,  but  being 
applied  to  things  of  another  itate  mufl  mean 

endlefs,  15 

Anfwer. — The  word  forever  applied  to  fpiri- 
tual  things,  and  circumftances  of  ano- 
ther ftate  muft  not  be  alw.iys  underftood 

to  mean  endlefs  15 

Objection. — But  does  not  the  phraft  forever 
and  ever,  in  the  New  Teftament  always  in- 
tend endlefs  ?  1 6. 

Ani'wer. — It  doth  not.     An  undeniable  in- 


CONTENTS.  xxxix 

Page, 
fiance  brought  in  proof,   to  which  feveral 

more  might  have  been  added  1 6 

Objection. — But  is  not  the  Scripture  chargea- 

able  with  a  defign  to  miflead  men  in  thefe 

words  when  applied  to  future  mifery,  un- 

lefs  they  intend  endlefs  duration  ?  and  does 

the  limiting  thefe  words  accufe  Chrift  of 

duplicity  and  deceit  in  his  threatenings  ?  16 

This  anfwered,  by  fhewing  that  the  Jews 

might  make  the  fame  objection  againft 

the  whole  fyftem  of  Chriftianity,  which 

puts  an  end  to  the  difpenfation  which  is 

tailed  everlafling  1 7 

The  Hebrew  word  rendered  everlafling, 
properly  intends  a    hidden  duration,  or 

period,  but  not  endlefs  I  f 

Objection. — The  fame  word  everlafling  or  e- 
ternal  is  in  the  very  fame  verfe  applied  both 
to  the  mifery  of  the  wicked  and  to  the  hap- 

pinefs  of  the  righteous  19 

Anfwer. — The  very  fame  word  is  in  other 
places  applied  to  very  different  things,  and 
whole  natures  and  durations  are  entirely 

diifimilar  20 

The  kingdom  given  by  the  Father  to  Chrift 
mall  end,  and  fo  alfo  the  kingdom  giv- 
en by  Chrift  to  his  faints  {hall  end  j  but 
this  fhall  not  diminish  the  glory  of 
Chrift,  nor  endanger  the  happinefs  of 
the  faints.  If  the  kingdom  of  Chrift 
and  his  faints  fhall  end,  then  certainly 
much  more  the  kingdom  of  Satan  21 

Objection. — But  upon  the  fuppofition  thai 
the  doctrine  of  endlefs  damnation  was  true, 
in  what  manner  might  one  expect  it  to  be 


xl  CONTENTS. 

Page. 

expreft  in  the  Bible  ?  22 

Anfwer. — If  it  was  true,  there  could  be  no 
promifes,  intimations,  or  even  diftant  hints 
to  the  contrary.  And  it  is  therefore  fhewn 
to  be  falfe  by  a  number  of  pofitive  proofs. 
If  there  were  not  promifes  and  intimations  23 
of  the  General  Refloration  in  the  Scripture, 
the  doctrine  of  endlefs  damnation  might  be 
then  concluded  to  be  true,  however  dark  > 
but  the  endlefs  happinefs  of  the  righteous  is  26 
fet  forth  in  much  ftronger  language,  and 
with  more  abundant  force  of  expreffion. 
As  for  inflance,  St.  John,  who  never 
applies  the  word  ever lofting  and  eternal 
once  in  all  his  writings  to  the  mifery  of 
the  wicked,  ufes  the  word  far  oftener  in 
his  Gofpel  alone,  as  connected  with  the  27 
happinefs  of  the  righteous,  than  it  is  ufed 
in  the  whole  Bible  to  exprefs  the  mifery  of 
the  wicked.  And  there  are  many  ftrong 
and  powerful  expreiTions  made  ufe  of  to 
exprefs  the  duration  of  happinefs  that  are 

never  applied  to  mifery 28 

The  endlefs  happinefs  of  the  righteous 
{lands  upon  fuch  foundations  that  can 
never  he  overthrown  or  deftroyed  ;  fuch 
as  their  indiffoluble  union  with  the  ori-  30 
ginal  fource  of  life  and  happinefs  ;  their 
being  heirs  of  God,  and  joint-heirs  with  3 1 
Chrift,  and  the  promife  that  they  {hall 
live  becaufe  he  lives  ;  and  his  life  is  tru- 
ly endlefs  3 1 

Objection. — That  fince  the  wicked  have  cho- 
fen  evil  and  perfevered  in  it  through  life, 
it  is  become  a  fixed  habit  in  them,  from 


CONTENTS.  xli 

Page, 
which  it  would  feem  as  impoflible  to  re- 
claim them,  as  to  draw  off  the  juft  from 
their  attachment  to  God  and  goodnefs  32 

Anfwer- — This  reafoning  founded  upon  the 
old  pagan  fyftem  of  good  and  evil  being 
two  eternal  co-exifting  principles        33 

All  men  are  God's  creatures,  and  therefore 
he  will  not  contend  for  ever,  nor  be  al- 
ways wroth  with  the  fouls  that  he  hath 
made  ■ —  34 

Satan's  kingdom  and  all  evil  (hall  be  deftroy- 
ed,  and  therefore  endlefs  mifery  cannot  have 
the  fame  permanent  foundation  as  endlefs 
happinefs  35 

Two  things  diametrically  oppofite  to  each  o- 
ther  cannot  both  exift  together  to  all  e- 

ternity  35 

Inferences  drawn  from  the  foregoing  in  fa- 
vour of  the  endlefs  continuance  of  the 
life  of  the  righteous,  and  which  prove 
that  the  iiate  of  fin  and  mifery  fhall  end     37 

Objection. — Bnt  dues  not  the  word  all  fre- 
quently intend  a  part  only  ?  38 

Anfwered. — By  giving  certain  never-failing 
rules,  whereby  it  may  be  known  when  the 
word  all  means  ltrictly  «//,  or  the  whole 
univerfally  without  any  exception-,  con- 
firmed by  plain  inftances  out  of  St.  Paul's 
writings  38 

Objection.  —That  perhaps  by  all  things  be- 
ing put  under  Chrift,  nothing  farther  may 
be  meant  than  their  being  brought  into  a 
ftate  of  forced  fubjection,  or  made  fubject 
to  his  controul  40 

Anfwer.— They  are  now  put  under  him  in  this 


xlii  CONTENTS. 

Page. 

refpect,  but  they  are  not  yet  put  under 
him  in  the  fenfe  that  they  (hall  be,  which 
implies  a  ftate  of  willing  fubjection  40 

The  word  many,  frequently  means  all  42 

All  things  were  created 'by  Chrift;  all  rebel- 
lious beings  (hall  hzfubdued  by  him,  and 
all  without  exception  (hall  be  reconciled 
by  him,  and  through  him  to  God     —     43 

dialogue   1. 

Objection. — Of  the  worm  that  dieth  not,  and 
the  unquenchable  fire,  five  times  threaten- 
ed by  our  Lord  Jefus  Chriftin  one  pafTage  46 
Anfwered. — By  reference  to  the  words  in  the 
prophecy  of  Ifaiah,  to  which  our  Lord  pro- 
bably alluded         47 

Paflages  from  the  prophets  brought  to  mew 
a  literal  accomplifliment  of  the  original 

words  48 

The  dreadful  threatenings  of  future  mifery 
to  the  wicked,  implied  in  thofe  words  of 
our  Saviour.  They  fhall  be  publicly 
punifhed  and  tormented  in  the  lake  of 
fire,  which  is  the  earth  in  its  melted  or 

diflblved  Hate         49 

Neverthelefs,  there  fhall  be  a  new  creati- 
on of  the  earth,  and  fo  the  lake  of  fire 

fhall  ceafe  50 

Many  inftances  of  fires  mentioned  in  Scrip- 
ture, of  which  it  was  faid,  they  pall  not 
be  quenched,  which  yet  have  cealed  long 

ago  52 

And  of  thofe  fires  whofe  fmoke  is  faid  to 
afcend  up  for  ever        55 


CONTENTS.  xliii 

Page. 

Things  contrary  are  often  predicted  of  the 
fame  places  and  people,  and  muft.  be 
understood   as    occurring    at    different 

times  56 

Our  Lord's  words  of  every  one  btmgfalted 

with  fire  confidered  $6 

Objection. — All  the  fires  above-mentioned 
were  on  earth,  and  in  time  5  but  the  fire  of 
hell,  being  in  eternity,  can  never  go  out, 
or  ceafe  to  burn  to  all  endlefs  duration  57 
Anfwer. — Thofe  fires  on  earth  that  were 
never  to  be  quenched  did  not  continue  to  burn 
as  long  as  the  earth  remained  ;  and,  there- 
fore there  is  no  neceffity  of  granting  that 
the  fire  of  hell  fhall  burn  to  all  eternky  57 
Punifhments  belong  only  to  the  ages  of  ages 
before  Chrift  fhall  have  delivered  up  the 

kingdom  to  the  Father         58 

Objection. — The  blafphemy  againft  the  Holy 

Ghofl  fhall  never  be  forgiven,  &c.         —     58 
Anfwered. —  1.  By  fhewing  what  this  fin  is, 
&c.  -  -  6\ 

2.  All  that  bears  the  name  of  death  fhall 
be  deftroyed,  and  all  forrow,  crying, 
and  pain,  mall  ceafe  and  be  no  more         64 

3.  Where  fin  abounded  grace  fhall  much 
more  abound  66 

Objection. — The  deplorable  cafe  of  Efau     —     68 
Anfwer. — He  loft  the  birth-right,  and  the  pe- 
culiar privileges  that  belonged  to  the  firft- 
born,  but  yet  he  had  a  blefTing  from  his 
father  of  a  lower  degree  -  69 

The  great  difference  between  them  was 
more  fulfilled  in  their  pofterity  than  in 
their  own  perfons  -  -  -         69 


Xlir  CONTENTS, 

Page. 

Love  and  hatred  are  fometimes  only  com- 
parative, and  not  pofitive  terms,  and  on- 
ly imply  a  preference  of  one  to  the  other     69 
Objection. — The  great  gulph  between  the  re- 
gion of  happinefs  and  mifery  is  impaflible      69 
Anfwer. — Chrift  has  parted  it,  when  he  went 
and  preached  to  the  ipirits  in  prilon,  who 
were  difobedient  in  the  days  of  Noah  70 

This  proves  a  ftate  of  confeious  exiitence 

after  the  death  of  the  body  —        73 

The  rich  man  feems  to  have  had  compaf- 

fion  towards  his  brethren         -  -     79 

The  Scriptures  constantly  hold  out  punifh- 
ment  in  proportion  to  the  fins  committ- 
ed in  the  prefent  life  -  -  80 
Objection. — The  cafe  of  Judas,  of  whom  Je- 
fus  faid,  «  Good  were  it  for  that  man  that 
he  had  never  been  born*             -  81 
Anfwer. — 1.  This  was  a  proverbial  faying         81 

2.  Both  Job  and  Jeremiah  curfed  the  day 
of  their  birth,  and  wifhed  they  had  ne- 
ver been  born,  only  on  the  Kcount  of 
wordly  and  temporal  calamities,  al- 
though they  had  no  fear  of  eternal  dam- 
nation, or  any  future  puniihment  82 

3.  Solomon  declares  an  untimely  birth  to 
be  far  better  than  the  longeft  and  mofl 
profperous  life  of  one  whofe  foul  is  not 
filled  with  good,  and  who  hath  no  burial     88 

4.  If  Judas  had  died  before  he  was  born 
he  would  have  efcaped  all  earthly  trou- 
ble, and  future  mifery,  and  would  have 
been  immediately  happy  -  89 

5.  The  nation  of  the  Jews  as  much  rejected 
and  doomed  to  woe  as  Judas,  and  yet 


CONTENTS.  xl* 

Page. 

the  final  intention  of  God  is  to   have 
mercy  upon  them  all.  -  90 

DIALOGUE    III. 

Objection. — That  the  doctrine  of  the  Refto- 
ration  tends  to  licentioufnefs,  and  is  calcu- 
lated to  encourage  the  wicked  to  a  continu- 
ance in  their  evil  ways,  &c.  -  93 

Anfwered. — Firft,  by  (hewing  the  principles 
upon  which  the  doctrine  of  the  Reftorati- 
on  is  founded  -  "95 

1.  God  is  the  Creator  of  all         -  95 

2.  His  benevolence  is  univerfal  -         96 

3.  (Shrift  died  for  all  without  exception,       98 
Objection. — That  Chrift  did  not  die  for  all, 

t>ecaufe  he  did  not  pray  for  all  -  "99 
Anfwer. — This  objection  is  entirely  ground- 
leis  ;  for,  though  in  one  place  he  prays  ex- 
clufively  for  his  apoftles,  yet  a  little  after 
he  prays  for  all  that  mould  believe  on  him, 
through  their  word  5  and,  finally,  that 
the  world  might  come  to  believe  and  know 
that  he  was  the  true  Mefliah  ;  which  fhall 
be  the  cafe  when  all  believers  fhall  btone9 
as  the  Father  and  Son  are  one  -  -  ico 

The  death  of  Chrift  for  all  men  is  fo  far 
from  encouraging  licentioufnefs,  that  it 
is  the  ftrongeft  of  all  motives  to  induce 
them  to  love  and  obey  him  -  1 02 

4.  Another  of  the  firft  principles  on  which 
the  doctrine  of  the  univerfal  Reftoration 
is  founded,  is  the  unchangeablenefs  of 
God  -  .-  -  -     i©4 


xlviii  CONTENTS. 

Page, 
dcr  it  probable  that  many  are  reclaimed 
in  a  future  ftate  -  -  132 

5.  That  the  intention  of  God  is  not  fo  much 
to  reftrain  fin,  as  to  fhew  its  enormity  ; 
and,  finally,  to  deftroy  it  out  of  the  u- 
niverfe  -  -  -         -      132 

6.  If  the  doctrine  of  the  Reftoration  mould 
be  abufed,  that  can  be  no  argument  a- 
gainft  it,  as  the  Gofpel  itfelf  has  been 
perverted,  yet  is  the  greateft  blefling  to 
mankind  -  -  -  132 

Therefore  it  is  evident  that  this  glorious 
doctrine  cannot  juftly  be  charged  with 
the  leaft  tendency  towards  licentioufnefs  133 
Objection. — It  would  not  be  prudent  in  God, 
even  if  he  intended  finally  to  reftore  the 
wicked,  to  let  them  know  his  gracious  de- 
figns  beforehand ;  it  is  time  enough  to  let 
them  know  his  gracious  purpofes  towards 
them,  when  his  former  threatenings  have 
failed  of  their  effect,  but  not  before  133 

Anfwered. — God  has  thought  it  the  abound- 
ing of  his  wifdom  and  prudence  to  make 
known  to  his  faints  this  myftery  of  his 
will,  even  his  purpofe  to  rehead  ail  things 
in  Ch rift.  This  difcovery  is  chiefly  intend-  134 
ed  for  the  comfort  and  fatisfaction  of  the 
good,  and  not  for  the  encouragement  of 
the  bad  -  135 

God  has  frequently  mixed  promifes  of  great 
mercies  with  threatenings  of  terrible 
judgments  -,  yet  his  threatenings  are  not 
thereby  weakened.  -  -  136 

Objection.     The  doctrine  of  the  Reftoration 
feems  not  very  plainly  revealed  in  the  Scrip- 


C  O  N  T  E  N  T  S.  xlix 

Page. 

turc,  or  it  would   not  have  been  fo  long 
hidden  from  fo  many  great  and  good  men   138 

Anfwer. — Things  that  have  been  plainly*%e- 
vealed,  have  been  Itili  hidden  from  great 
and  good  men ;  as  the  death  and  reiurrec- 
tionof  Chrifl  -  -  138 

As  alfo  the  calling  of  the  Gentiles         -      141 

Qucftion.  But  how  comes  this  man  to  know 
better  than  all  the  world  ?  &c.  -       142 

Anfwered.  The  charge  denied.  Many  have 
known,  believed,  preached,  and  defended 
it  -  -  -  142 

The  doctrine  of  endlefs  mifery  is  one  prin- 
cipal caufe  of  the  difagreement  among 
Chrifrians  -  -  -  143 

DIALOGUE    IV. 

Objection.  Chrift.  threatens  the  Jews  that 
they  mould  die  in  their  fins,  and  that  they 
could  not  come   whither  he  went         -        149 

Anfwer.  Our  Lord  told  his  difciples  them- 
felves  that  whither  he  went  they  could  not 
come,  that  is,  then,  as  afterwards  ex- 
plained -  -  -  -     150 

2.  There  are  blelTings  promifed  in  Scrip- 
ture to  all  Ifrael,  without  exception.  150 

3.  Thofe  that  have  been  rejected  and  cafb 
off  fhail  at  lad  return  and  be  received-     151 

Objection. — That  theblcflings  pror&ifed  only 
refpect  thole  that  (hail  be  found  alive  on 
the  earth  at  a  certain  time 

Anfwer. — The  inhabitants  of  Sodom,  Sama- 
ria and  Jerufalejn  with  their  daughters,  or 


11; 


59 


1  C  O  N  T  E  N  T  S. 

Page, 
neighbouring  cities,  fhall   all  be  reftored, 
though  deftroyed  long  ago  -         -      152 

2.  That  all  things  are  given  to  Chrift  with- 
out exception  •,  and  that  all  that  are  giv-   153 
en  fhall  at  laft  come  to  him  in  fuch  a 
manner  as   not  to  be  call:  out.     From 
■which  premifes,  the  univerfal  Reftora-   154 
ration  is  inferred,  and  proved  to  be  cer- 
tainly true  -  -  -  155 
Objection. — God  fware  in  his  wrath  that  the 

Ifraelites  fhould  not  enter  into  his  reft 
Anfwer. — The  reft  was  the  land  of  Canaan, 
being  typical  of  the  time  of  the  Millenium, 
or  ChriiVs  reign  on  earth,  and  not  of  the 
ultimate  ftate  of  happinefs  -         -     160 

Objection. — There  are  ibme  of  whom  we 
read,  That  he  that   made  them  will  not 
have  mercy  upon  them,  and  he  that  form- 
ed them  will  fhew  them  no  favour  161 
Anfwer. — Thefe  words  muft  necefTarily  be 
underftood  with  ibme  limitation,  and  refer 
to   a    particular  feafon,   when  they   fhall 
have  judgment  without  mercy,  but  final- 
ly mercy  fhall  rejoice  againft  judgment        161 
This  proved  to  be  the  true  intent  of  the 
text,  by  a  number  of  paflages  where 
abfolute  judgment  without  the  leaft  fa- 
vour is   threatened;  but  which  threat- 
enings    are  immediately    fucceeded    by 
promifes  of  the  richeft  bleflings                 164 
Objection. — That  the  wicked  fhall  never  fee 

light  -  -  -  -         164 

Anfwer. — Not  until  fubdued  or  overcome,  as 

the  words  ought  to  be  tendered  -      164 

Objection.     A  great   ranfom  cannot  deliver 


C  O  N  T  E  N  T  S.  ii 

Page, 
thofe  who  are  taken  away  by  the  ftroke  of 
God  -  -  -165 

Anfwer.  The  great  ranfom  cannot  intend 
the  blood  of  Chrift,  the  power  of  which 
is  unlimited,  but  gold  and  all  the  forces  of 
ftrength,  riches,  wifdom,  &c.  none  of  thefe 
can  deliver  their  pqfTeflbrs  from  death  165 

Objection. — Solomon  fays,  That  there  is  no 
work,  nor  device,  nor  knowledge,  nor 
wifdom  in  the  grave  -,  and  that  in  the  place 
where  the  treefalleth,  there  it  mail  be  167 

Anfwer. — The  flrft  part  of  this  objection  re- 
fpects  only  the  ftate  of  the  body  in  the 
grave,  but  cannot  be  brought  to  difprove 
the  confcioufnefs  of  the  foul  in  the  leparate 
ftate,  the  refurrecYion  of  the  body,  a  fu- 
ture ftate  of  exiftence,  or  the  final  Reftora- 
tion  -  -  -  -  1 63 

The  fecond  part  of  this  objection  has  not 
the  leaft  relation  to  the  fubjedt ;  but  be-  169 
longs  to  quite  another  matter.  But  if  it 
related  to  the  death  of  the  body,  (as  it 
does  not)  it  would  be  no  real  objection 
to  the  Reftoration  -  -  171 

Objection. — The  living  have  hope,  but  the 
dead  have  none,  their  love,  hatred,  envy, 
&c.  are  perifhed  -  -  172 

Anfwer.  This  belongs  to  the  preient  life, 
and  to  the  ftate  of  the  body  in  the  grave ; 
but  forms  no  objection  againft  the  Reftora- 
tion -  I72 

Objection.  Our  Saviour  has  faid,  The  night 
cometh  when  no  man  can  work  -        173 

Anfwer.  Our  Lord  was  diligent  in  his  work, 
c  2 


lii  CONTENT  S. 

Page, 
and  we  ought  to  be  fo  in  our  labours  on  173 
earth,  to  which  death  will  put  an  end.  But 
this  can  form  no  objection  to  the  final  Re£- 
roration,  as  that  is  an  event,  which  will  be 
Subsequent  not  only  to  death,  but  to  the 
resurrection,  and  to  a  future  State  of  punish- 
ment according  to  the  deeds  done  in  the 
body  -  -  -  174 

Objection.  Many  terrible  palTages  of  Scrip- 
ture brought  to  prove  the  destruction  and 
future  mifery  of  the  wicked  -  1 74 

Anfwer.     The  Scripture.,  are  an  unanfwera- 
ble  objection  to  thole  who  deny  a  future 
ftate  of  retribution,  but  not  fotothe  Scrip- 
tural doctrine  of  the  general  Restoration        177 
Oblervations  made  upon  thofe  awful  and 

fhiking  paifages  -  -  177 

The  moft  terrible  threatenings  clofe  witfci 

gracious  promifes  -  -  178 

Tliis  particularly  inflanced  in  the  prophe- 
cy of  Ezckiel,  where  the  threatenings 
denounced  are  numerous  and  very  Se- 
vere, but  commonly  clofe  with  the  gra- 
cious declaration,  And  they  (hall  know 
Jehovah;  or  Some  fimilar  expreilion  179 
Queftiop.  But  does  not  punifhment  harden 
and  inflame,  inftead  of  Softening  and 
Subduing  the  criminals  ?  -  180 

Anfwer.     Punifhment  to  a  certain  degree  pr<  •- 
duces  the  former  effects,  but  in  greater  de- 
grees and  longer  continued  produces  the 
'    latter  -  -  -  -        180 

This  illuftrated  by  a  true  ftory  182 

Different  degrees  of  the  Same  things  pro- 
duce quite  contrary  effects  -  184 


CONTENT  S.  ffii 

Objection.  The  deplorable  eftate  of  wicked 
men,  their  averfion  to  good,  their  love  of 
vice,  their  hardnefs  cf  heart,  and  oppofi- 
tion  to  every  method  taken  to  reclaim  them, 
feems  to  render  their  Reftoration  an  event 
hardly  to  be  hoped  for  -  -       U>4 

Aniwer.  However  difficult  it  may  be  for 
our  reafon  to  admit  the  poflibjlity  of  fuch 
monfters  of  iniquity  bei  g  changed  and  re- 
ftored,  yet  nothing  is  ioo  hard  for  God, 
and  therefore  faith  may  lay  hold  on  hi:. 
promHes,  which  he  hath  gracioufly  given 
us  for  our  encouragement  -  -  185 

Examples  are  given  us  in  Scripture  of  fome 
of  the  moil  atrocious  finners  being  re- 
claimed ;  we  ourfelves  have  been  recon- 
ciled ;  and  therefore  we  ihould  not  des- 
pair of  the  final  recovery  of  all  187 
Objection.   There  will  come  a  time  when  the 
characters  of  all  men  will  be  lb  fixed  and 
confirmed,  that  no  change  can  afterwards 
take  place  upon  them.     He  that  is  unjuft, 
let  him  be  unjuft  ftill,  and  he  that  is  filthy 
let  him  be  filthy  fttll,  &c.               -  187 
Anfwered. —  1.  By  confidering  the  words  as 
belonging  to  a  certain  period,  and  by  the 
confideration  of  many  other  fcriptural  paf- 
fages  of  a  like  import              -              -  188 
2.  By  companion ;  as  even  the  mod  holy 
creatures  are  unclean,   compared  with 
God :  fo   thofe  who  remain  filthy  and 
unclean,  during  the  prefent  life,  may  be 
fo  efteemed  hereafter,  in  comparifon  of 
thofe  holy  fouls   who    having    purged 
themfelves  from  all   uncleannefs  here, 


liv  CONTENTS. 

Page, 
fhall  be  reckoned  as  veflels  of  the  high- 
eft  honour  in  thehoufe  of  God         -       190 
Objection.     Thofe  who  add  or  diminilli  /hall 
have  the  plagues  added  to  them,  or  their 
part  taken  out  of  the  book  of  life,  &c.        192 
Anfwer.     This  no  objection   to  the  general 
Reftoration,  but  is  a  foiemn  warning  for 
us  to  take  heed  that  we  do  not  fail  under 
thofe  dreadful  puniftiments  which  await 
unbelievers  and  profane  perfons,  nor  lofe 
thofe  ineftimable  bleflings  which  Chrift  has 
promifed  to  the  faithful,  obedient,  over- 
comers,  Sec.  -  -  193 
A  fad  inftance  of  prefumption  mentioned     196 
The  higheft  and  greateft  not  fecure,  if  they 

indulge  themfelves  in  fin         -         -  196 

The  reflections  caft  upon  the  doctrine  of 
the  Reftoration  by  its  opponents  fhewn 
to  be  highly  abfurd  -         -  198 

The  doctrine  of  annihilation  confidered        199 
There  can  be  but  three  things  polTible,  end- 
lefs  mifery  ;  total   annihilation ;  or   the 
Reftoration  199 

The  doctrine  of  annihilation,  or  a  final  ft  ate 
of  non-exiftence,  proved  unfcriptural        200 

1.  By  the  wicked  being  actually  tormented 

for  along  feaibn,  ages  of  ages  200 

2.  Becaufethey  are  deftroyed,  not  that  they 
might  ceafe  to  exift  any  more,  but  that 
they  might  come  to  know  the  Lord  2co 

3.  By  the  unexceptionable  inftance  of  So- 
dom and  Gomorrah,  &c.  who  were  fo 
long  ago  deftroyed,  and  yet  (hall  have 
their  captivity  returned  -  201 

The  promifes  made  reflecting  Sodom,  and 
Gomorrah,  &c.  prove  the  doctrines  of 


CONTENTS.  It 

Page. 

annihilation  and  endlefs  mifery,  both  to 
be  erroneous,  and  the  Reftoration  alone 
to  be  true  -  203 

An  objection  taken  from  Mr.  B 's  fer- 

mon,  That  Tinners  in  Hell  will  be  always 
under  the  neceflity  of  committing  frefh. 
fin,  therefore  God  will  be  obliged  to 
continue  their  punifhment  to  all  eternity  204 

Anlv.cred.  The  objection  unfcriptural, 
merely  a  rafh  conjeclure,totally  unfound- 
ed -  -  -  -         205 

The  Scripture  reprefents  future  punifhment 
as  the  reward  of  fins  committed  in  this 
world  -  -  -  206 

Their  intention  is  to  deitroy  fin,  and  con- 
fequently  will  cauie  it  to  ceafe  from  being 
committed  -  20(5 

Whatever  rage  punithments  may  at  firfr 
feem  to  provoke,  they  muft  continue  un- 
til the  molt  rebellious  are  entirely  fub- 
dued  -  206 

The  iaft  objection.  That  fin  is  infinite, 
being  againft  an  infinite  object,  contain- 
ing infinite  hatefulnefs,  and  juftly  de- 
ferves  infinite  puniiliment  ;  and  which 
cannot  be  fully  executed,  and  therefore 
endlefs  mifery  muft  be  their  portion  207 

This  unfcriptural,  unreafonable,  trite  ob- 
jection largely  anfwered  -  2e8 

1.  By  (hewing  theabfurdity  of  afcribing  in- 
finite actions  to  creatures  -  208 

2.  Acts  of  the  higheft  goodnefs,  do  not 
extend  to  God,  cannot  be  infinite,  much 

lefs  can  evil  actions  be  infinite         -         208 

3.  Though  iniquities  are  once  in  Scripture 
itiled  infinite,  yet  it  is  evident  from  the 


Ivi  CONTENT  S. 

Page 

whole  pafTage  compared  with  other  parts 
of  Scripture,  that  infinite  is  only  ufed  for 
a  great  multitude.  -  -  209 

4.  The  idea  of  every  fin  being  abfolutely  in- 
finite, and  deferving  infinite  punifhment, 
or  endlefs  mifery,  entirely  confounds  and 
deftroys  all  the  different  kinds  and  de- 
grees of  fin,  and  all  thofe  diftinctions 
which  God  hath  made,  and  revealed  to 

us  in  the  Scriptures  -  -  213 

5.  God  threatens  to  punifh  finners  for  all 
their  fins ;  and  to  render  their  fin  and 
iniquity  double  upon  them ;  and  yet 
promifes  to  be  gracious  to  them  after  all : 
which  would  be  impoflible  if  every  fin 
was  infinite,  and  could  not  be  fully  pu- 
nlfhed  with  any  punifhment  fhort  of 
endlefs  mifery  -         -         -  211 

6.  Even  allowing  that  fin  is  naturally  infi- 
nite, and  deferves  infinite  punifhment, 
that  will  not  prove  that  any  of  the  hu- 
man race  muft  be  miferable  without 
end  ;  fince  Chrift  has  made  a  full  and 
fufficient  reconciliation,  and  propitiation 
for  the  fins  of  the  whole  world,  and  the 
grace  of  God  muft  finally  fuperabound 
and  triumph  over  all  fin,  and  confequent- 

ly  put  an  end  to  mifery  -  212 

Eight  reafons  given  why  the  Author  fome- 
times  treats  in  public  upon  the  doctrine 
of  the  universal  Reftoration  -  214 

Eleven  reafons  mentioned  why  the  Author 
doth  not  ipeak  of  it  more  frequently 
and  fully  in  his  public  dilcourics  216 

Conclufion  -  -  -  219 


FAMILIAR    DIALOGUES 

BETWEEN 

A  MINISTER  AND  HIS  FRIEND, 

CONCERNING 

THE  DOCTRINE  OF 
THE  RESTORATON  OF  ALL  THINGS. 


DIALOGUE    I. 

Friend.  "IT  HAVE  taken  the  freedom  to  call  upon 
J_  you,  to  have  a  little  difcourfe  with  you 
concerning  the  doctrine  of  the  Rejloration  of  all 
Things ■,  which  it  is  faid  you  believe  -,  and  to  pro- 
pole  fome  objections. 

M'mifler.  I  am  happy  to  fee  you,  and  am  wil- 
ling to  difcourfe,  as  well  as  I  am  able,  upon  any 
fubjecT:  that  may  be  agreeable  •,  but  I  have  always 
made  it  a  rale  never  to  prefs  the  belief  of  my  fen- 
timents  upon  my  friends ;  and  I  can  fafely  fay,  that, 
though  fuch  great  pains  have  been  taken  by  my 
adverfaries  to  prejudice  people  againft  me,  I  have 
never  gone  about  from  honfe  to  houfe  to  propagate 
my  opinions ;  and  I  make  it  an  universal  rule  not 
A  to 


2  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

to  introduce  the  fubject  in  converfation,  unlefs  de- 
fired  ;  but  yet  I  never  have  refufed  to  own  my  fen- 
timents,  when  afked,  refpecting  the  matter  ;  and 
am  ready,  in  the  fear  of  God,  to  anfwer  any  ob- 
jections that  can  be  made,  to  a  doctrine  which  I 
believe  is  plainly  revealed  in  the  Scriptures  of  truth, 
and  appears  to  me  worthy  of  God. 

Friend.  I  (hall  lirit  of  all  bring  to  view  that 
grand  objection,  which  is  formed  from  the  word 
eternal  or  everlajJing,  being  applied  to  a  future  itate 
of  punimment  ;  as  in  the  following  palTages  : 
Ifaiah  xxxiii.  14.  *  The  finners  in  Zion  are  afraid, 
fearf'ulnefs  hath  furprized  the  hypocrites.  "Who 
among  us  mall  dwell  with  the  devouring  fire  ? 
Ysrho  among  us  ihall  dwell  with  everlafting  burn- 
ings > 

Dan.  xil.  2.  <  And  many  of  them  that  fleep  in 
the  dull  of  the  earth  mail  awake,  fome  to  everlaft- 
ing life,  and  fome  to  fhame  and  ever  Lifting  con- 
tempt? 

St.  Matt,  xviii.  8.  '  Wherefore,  if  thine  hand  or 
thy  foot  offend  thee  (or  caufe  thee  to  offend)  cut 
them  off,  and  call  them  from  thee ;  it  is  better  for 
thee  to  enter  into  life  halt  or  maimed,  rather  than 
having  two  hands,  or  two  feet,  to  be  caft  into 
everlafting  fire/ 

St.  Matt.  xxv.  41.  <  Then  mail  he  fay  alfo  unto 
them  on  the  left  hand.,  Depait  from  me,  ye  cur f- 
ed,  into  everlafting  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil 
arid  his  angels.'  Verfe  46,  <  Thefe  fhall  go  away 
into  everlajtlng  puniihment :  but  the  righteous  in- 
to life  eternal,  or  everlafting^ — The  fame 
in  the  original  being  «&»  for  both,  though  varied 
by  th< 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  J 

St.  Mark,  ill-  29.  '  But  he  that  mail  bla£ 
pheme  againlt  the  Holy  Ghoft,  hath  never  for- 
giveneis  ;  but  is  in  danger  of  eternal  damna- 
tion.' 

2  Thef.  i.  7,  %,  9.  <  The  Lord  Jefus  (hall  be 
revealed  from  heaven  with  his  mighty  angels,  in 
flaming  fire,  taking  vengeance  on  them  that 
know  not  God,  and  that  obey  not  the  gofpel  of 
our  Lord  Jefus  Chrift :  who  mail  be  puniihed 
with  everlajling  deffruction,  from  the  prefence  of 
the  Lord,  and  from  the  glory  of  his  power/ 

Jude,  6,  7.  *  And  the  Angels  which  kept  not 
their  firft  eftate,  but  left  their  own  habitation,  he 
hath  referved  in  everlrjling  chains  under  darknefs, 
unto  the  judgment  of  the  great  day:  Even  at 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and  the  cities  about  them 
in  like  manner,  giving  themfeives  over  unto  for- 
nication, and  going  after  ltrange  flefh,  are  fet 
forth  for  an  example,  fufFering  the  vengeance  of 
1  terrml  fire/ 

Thefe  texts,  together,  form  fuch  an  objection  to 
the  doctrine  of  the  Refloration,  that  I  can  by  no 
means  believe  it,  unlefs  this  can  be  fairly  anfwer- 
ed,  and  proofs  brought  from  the  Scriptures  to 
ihew,  that  the  words  euerlafiing  and  eternal,  (which 
.ire  translations  of  the  fame  word  and  fynbnimous) 
being  connected  with  the  punifnment  of  the 
wicked,  and  their  future  mifery,  do  not  necef- 
iarily  imply  the  continuance  of  the  fame  while 
God  exilts. 

Aiimjhr.  I  am  glad  that  you  have  fo  fairly  and 
fully  ftated  the  matter  ;  and  I  highly  commend 
your  refolution,  not  to  believe  the  tmivcrfed doc- 
trine,  unlefs  this  can  be  anfwered  fully,  without 
any  torturing  or  twiffing  the  Scriptures ;  and  if  I 
A  2 


f 

4  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

am  not  able,  with  God's  affiftance,  to  remove 
this  difficulty,  I  will  publicly  recant  my  fenti- 
ments. 

But,  before  I  come  to  give  a  direct  anfwer,  I 
would  beg  leave  to  remark  how  very  feldom  this 
word  is  ufed  to  exprefs  the  duration  of  punifhment. 
We  mould  think,  by  fome  fermons  we  hear,  that 
everlafiing  is  applied  to  mifery  in  every  book  of  the 
New  Teftament,  if  not  in  every  chapter.  A  friend 
of  mine  told  me,  that  he  was  once  preaching  in 
Maryland,  and  after  fermon  a  man  came  and  afked 
him,  of  what  denomination  he  was  ?  To  which  he 
anfwered,  A  Baptift.  I  think,  fays  the  man,  that 
you  do  not  preach  up  fo  much  everlafiing  damnation^ 
as  the  Baptifts  and  Methodifts,  among  us,  do.  To 
which  my  friend  replied,  Everlafiing  damnation  is 
found  in  the  Scripture.  True,  anfwered  the  man ; 
but  fome  preachers  give  us  more  of  it  in  one  fer- 
mon than  is  to  be  found  in  the  whole  Bible.  The 
truth  of  this  remark  will  appear,  if  we  confider  that 
St.  Luke,  never  ufes  the  word  aionion>  or  evcrlafi- 
ing,  as  connected  with  the  mifery  of  the  wicked, 
in  his  gofpei  j  nor  St.  Mark  but  once,  and  then 
in  a  particular  cafe  only :  In  the  gofpei  of  St.  John, 
it  is  not  to  be  found  at  all,  in  that  connection,  nor 
in  any  of  his  epiftles  :  In  the  account  of  the 
preaching  of  the  apoflles  through  the  world,  in 
the  firft  age  of  Chriftianity,  we  do  not  find  it  men- 
xioned,  in  that  light,  fo  much  as  once  :  No,  not  in 
all  the  fermons,  and  parts  of  fermons,  which  St. 
Luke  has  preferved  in  the  Book  of  the  Acts : 
though  the  doctrine  of  everlafiing  damnation  is  the 
fubftance  of  many  modern  difcourfes.  St.  Paul 
never  mentions  everlafiing  ihfiruElion  but  once, 
though  his  writings  form  fuch  a  confkierable  part 

of 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  3" 

of  the  New  Teftament.  Neither  are  fach  words 
found  in  the  epiftle  of  St.  James,  or  in  thole  of  St. 
Peter ;  and  but  three  times  in  the  gofpel  of  St. 
Matthew :  And  only  twice  in  all  the  Old  Tefta- 
ment. But  was  the  word  aionion  applied  to  mifery 
but  once,  in  the  whole  Bible,  it  would  deferve  a 
ferious  confideration  •,  and  unlefs  the  force  of  it 
can  be  removed  by  the  authority  of  Scripture,  it 
mult,  remain  an  unanfwerable  objection.  But  I  in  all 
proceed  to  anfwer  it,  by  bringing  an  equal  number 
of  pafTages  where  the  word  everlafting  is  applied 
to  things  and  timesy  that  have  had,  or  muir.  have, 
an  end.  As  in  the  following  paflages :  Gen.  xvii. 
7,  8.  c  And  I  will  eftablith  my  covenant  between 
me  and  thee,  and  thy  feed  after  thee,  in  their  ge- 
nerations, for  an  everlafting  covenant ;  to  be  a  God 
unto  thee,  and  to  thy  feed  after  thee.  And  I 
will  give  unto  thee,  and  to  thy  feed  after  thee, 
the  land  wherein  thou  art  a  ftranger,  all  the 
land  of  Canaan,  for  an  everlafting  pofleffion  ; 
and  I  will  be  their  God.'  Verfe  13.  i  He  that 
is  born  in  thy  houfe,  and  bought  with  thy  mo- 
ney, mull,  needs  be  circumcifed  :  and  my  cove- 
nant (hall  be  in  your  flefh  for  an  everlafting  cove- 
nant.' 

Here  note,  that  the  land  of  Canaan  is  called 
an  everlafting  pofTeflion  ;  and  the  covenant  of  cir- 
cumcifion  in  their  fleih,  an  everlafting  covenant, 
though  it  is  certain  that  the  land  of  Canaan,  as 
well  as  the  other  parts  of  the  earth  muff,  be  dif- 
foivedor  melted,  in  the  general  conflagration;  and 
circamcifton  is  now  declared  null  and  void  by  the 
Holy  Ghoff.  •,  and  the  ceremony  cannot  endure  to 
endlefs  ages. 

A3  Of 


6  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

Of  the  fame  kind  are  the  following  pa/Tages  : 
Gen.  xlviii.  3,  4.  *  And  Jacob  faid  unto  Jofeph, 
God  Almighty  appeared  to  me  at  Luz,  in  the 
land  of  Canaan,  and  blefTed  me ;  and  faid  unto 
me,  Behold,  I  will  make  thee  fruitful,  and  mul- 
tiply thee,  and  I  will  make  of  thee  a  multi- 
tude of  people  :  and  will  give  this  land  to  thy 
feed  after  thee,  for  an  everlafting  poflefTion.' 
And  in  the  bleffing  of  Jofeph,  he  fays,  {  The 
bleffings  of  thy  father  have  prevailed  above  the 
blefTings  of  my  progenitors,  unto  the  utmoft 
bound  of  the  everlafi'mg  hills.'  By  which,  I 
iuppofe,  the  hills  of  the  land  of  Canaan  were 
meant. 

God  faith  to  Mofes,  Exod.  xl.  15.  «  And  thou 
malt  anoint  them  (Aaron's  fons)  as  thou  didft 
anoint  their  father,  that  they  may  minister  unto 
me  in  the  prieft's  office :  for  their  anointing  mall 
furely  be  an  everlafi'mg  priefthood,  throughout 
their  generations.'  Lev.  xvi.  34.  'And  this 
mail  be  an  everlaftitig  ftatute  unto  you,  to  make 
an  atonement  for  the  Children  of  Ifrael,  for  all 
their  fins,  once  a  year  \  and  he  did  as  Jeho- 
vah commanded  Mofes.' 

The  apoftle  declares,  that  thefe  everlafling  ordi- 
nances were  only  till  the  time  of  reformation^  Heb. 
ix.  10.  And  this  everlafi'mg  pricflhood  of  Aaron's 
fons  has  ceafed  long  ago  :  c  For  the  prieflhood 
being  changed,  (by  Chrift)  there  is,  of  necci- 
fity  a  change  alfo  of  the  law  :  For  he  of  whom 
thefe  things  are  fpoken,  pertaineth  to  another 
tribe,  of  which  no  man  gave  attendance  at  the 
altar:  For  it  is  evident,  that  our  Lord  fprang 
out  of  Judah  ;  of  which  tribe  Mofes  fpake  no- 
thing   concerning  prieilhood.     And  it  is  yet  far 

more 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  7 

more  evident :  For  that,  after  the  fimilitude  of 
Melchifedec,  there  arifeth  another  prieft,  who  is 
made  not  after  the  law  of  a  carnal  command- 
ment, but  after  the  power  of  an  endlefs  life  :  For 
he  teftifieth,  Thou  art  a  prieft  for  ever,  after  the 
order  of  Melchifedec :  For  there  is  verily  a  dis- 
annulling of  the  commandment  going  before 
for  the  weaknefs  and  unprofitableness  thereof.' 
Heb.  vii.  12 — 18.  The  whole  ium  of  the  apoftle's 
argument,  in  this  epiftle,  tends  to  prove,  that  the 
everlajiing  ordinance  is  now  no  more  ;  and  the  ever- 
lofting  piieflhood  of  Aaron  and  his  fons,  is  now 
abolifhed. 

Another  paiTage  where  the  WGrd  everlafltng  is 
evidently  ufed  in  a  limited  fenfe,  is,  Numb  xxv. 
11,  12,  13.  where  we  read  thus :  'Phinehas,  the 
fon  of  Eleazar,  the  fon  of  Aaron  the  prieft,  hath 
turned  my  wrath  away  from  the  Children  of  If- 
rael  while  he  was  zealous  for  my  fake  among 
them,  that  I  confumed  not  the  Children  of  Ifrael 
in  my  jealoufy.  Wherefore  fay,  Behold,  I  give 
imto  him  my  covenant  of  peace  :  And  he  mall 
have  it,  and  his  feed  after  him,  even  rhe  cove- 
nant of  an  everlafltng  prlcfthcod  ;  becaufe  he  was 
zealous  for  his  God,  and  made  an  atonement 
for  the  Children  of  liiacl.' 

If  the  word  everlafling  intends  endlefs  duration^ 
how  mould  we  be  able  to  reconcile  this  promiie 
with  the  total  celTation  of  the  Levitical  priefihocd  ? 
As  for  the  family  of  Phinehas,  with  whom  this 
covenant  of  an  everlafling  prieflhood  was  made,  it 
was  entirely  deprived  of  the  benefit  of  the  fame, 
within  the  fpace  of  four  hundred  years  :  For  when 
the  fons  of  Eli  tran fgrefTed  the  covenant,  by  pro- 
faning it,  God  fent  him  word,  that  as  they  had 
A  4  bro] 


5  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

broken  it  on  their  parts,  it  was  entirely,  and  to  all 
intents  and  purpofes  diffolved.  Read  i  Sam.  ii. 
from  the  beginning  of  the  12th  verfe  to  the  end  of 
the  17th,  and  from  the  27th  verfe  to  the  end  of 
ehapter:  And  alfo,  chap.  iii.  n,  12,  13,  14. 

I  will  tranfcribe  verfe  30,  of  the  fecond  chapter, 
hi  proof  of  my  point.  *  Wherefore,  Jehovah, 
God  of  Ifrael,  faith,  I  laid,  indeed,  that  thy 
houfe,  and  the  honfe  of  thy  father,  mould  walk 
before  mzfor  ever:  But  now  Jehovah  faith,  Be 
it  far  from  me,  for  them  that  honour  me,  I  v/ill 
honour  5  and  they  that  defpife  me,  fliall  be  light- 
ly ef'teemed.,  Hophni,  and  Phinehas,  were  foon 
after  Ham  in  one  day  •,  and  Saul,  the  king  of  Ifrael, 
lent  Doeg,  the  Edomite,  who  fell  upon  the  priefts, 
And  flew  fourfcore  and  five  perfons,  who  wore  a 
linen  ephod,  in  one  day.  *  And  Nob,  the  city  of 
the  priefts,  fmote  he  with  the  edge  of  the  fword; 
both  men,  and  women,  and  children,  and  fuck- 
lings,  and  oxen,  and  afles,  and  fheep,  with  the 
edge  of  the  fword.'  1  Sam.  xxii.  19.  The  whole 
houfe  of  Phinehas  feems  to  have  been  deftroyed  at 
this  time,  except  Abiathar  ;  and  when  Solomon 
came  to  the  throne,  he  thru  ft  him  out  from  being 
prieft,  c  that  he  might  fulfil  the  word  of  Jeho- 
vah, which  he  fpake  concerning  the  houfe  of 
Eli,  in  Shiloh,'  1  Kings,  ii.  27.  From  this 
time,  the  houfe  of  Ithamar  had  the  priefthood. 

It  is  fo  evident  that  the  word  which  iskranflated 
everJaJiing,  cannot  in  the  nature  of  things,  abfo- 
lutely  fignify,  without  e?id>  that  I  mould  not  think 
it  worth  while  to  quote  any  more  paffages  in  proof 
of  its  intending  flgf,  or  ages,  only,  were  it  not  con- 
ftantly  ufed  as  a  great  objection  againft  the  uni 
Terfal  Reftora  ion  :  I  mail,  therefore,  inftance  two 

or 


UNIVERSAL    REST0R.AT10N.  9 

or  three  more  in  particular,  in  this  place,  and  re- 
fer to  a  great  number  of  others,  of  the  lame  kind  \ 
all  tending  to  prove  the  fame  thing.  Hab.  iii.  6. 
'  The  everlafting  mountains  were  fcattered,  the 
perpetual  hills  did  bow.'  The  gofpel  is  called, 
the  evevlajling  gofpel,'  Rev.  xiv.  6,  yet  it  mull 
ceafe  to  be  preached,  when  it  fliall  be  needed  no 
longer.  Jonah  faith,  *  The  earth  with  her  bars 
about  me,  for  ever  :  yet  haft  thou  brought 
up  my  life  from  corruption,  O  Jehovah,  my 
God.'  Jonah,  ii.  6.  But  it  would  be  the 
higheft  abfurdity  upon  the  fuppofition  that  the 
word  Legfiolnm,  here  rendered,^/-  ever,  properly 
fignifies  without  end,  for  him  to  fay,  that  his  life 
was  brought  up  from  corruption  ;  and,  therefore, 
we  know  that  he  could  not  ufe  it  in  that  feme,  be- 
caufe,  on  the  third  day,  he  was  delivered  from  his 
dreadful  priibn.  There  is  no  doubt  but  the  time 
that  he  was  there,  feemed  an  age,  and,  while  he 
was  thus  (hut  up,  there  was  no  interm-lTion  to  the 
darknefs,  and  diflrefs,  that  overwhelmed  him; 
and,  therefore  he  might  fay,  with  propriety,  that 
the  earth,  with  her  bare,  was  about  him,  for 
ever,'  (i.  e.  perpetually  without  ceffation)  during 
the  period  he  remained  in  the  finYs  belly  ',  which 
appeared  to  him,  as  a  long  age  indeed.  But,  as  it 
would  be  a  work  of  much  time  and  labour  to 
mention  ail  the  paiTages  where  the  word  tranllated 
forever,  evidently  intends  only  an  age,  or  period, 
I  fliall  juft  uhect  you  to  the  following  ,•  which 
you  may  look  over  at  your  leifure. 

Gen.  xiii.  i^.xliii.  9.  xliv.  32. — Exod.  xii.  1.4, 
17,24.  xxi.  6.  xxvii.  21.  xxviii.  43.  xxix.  9,28. 
xxx.  21.  xxxi.  16,  17.  xxxii.  13. — Lev.  iii.  17. 

Yi.   13,  18,  2C,  22.   fli.  34,  36.   X.  9,   15.    Xvi.  29, 

A  5  3*> 


10  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

3i,xxiii.  14,  21,  31,  41.  xxiv.  3.  xxv.  30,  46. — 
Numb.  x.  3.  xv.  15.  xviii.  8,  19.  xix.  10. — 
Deut.  iv.  40.  xv.  17.  xviii.  5.  xxviii.  46. — Jofhua 
iv.  7.  xiv.  9. —  [  Sam.  ii.  30.  iii.  13.  xxvii.  12. 
xxviii.  2. —  1  Kings,  xii.  7. — 2  Kings,  v.  27. — 
2  Chron.  x.  7. 

Here  are  more  than  fifty  paffages,  where  the 
word  renderedyir  ever  intends  only  age,  or  ages  ; 
to  which  many  more  might  be  added. 

Now,  the  rule  for  underftanding  words  is  this  : 
What  muft  be  the  meaning  of  the  word,  in  many 
places,  and  what  may  be  the  meaning  in  all ;  is  the 
true  fenfe  of  the  fame. 

Friend.  Although  the  fingle  word  forever,  in 
thefe  paffages,  feems  evidently  to  intend  certain 
unknown,  limited  periods  ;  yet,  what  can  you  do 
with  thofe  texts  that  fay,  the  mifery  of  the  wicked 
fhall  endmefor  ever  and  ever? 

Minifies.  Indeed,  they  are  terrible  threatnings  } 
and,  no  doubt,  will  be  fully  executed. 

Friend.  But,  do  you  imagine  that  fuch  paffages 
as  the  following  can  intend  lels  than  endlefs  mifery? 
Rev.  xiv.  11.  *  And  the  fmoke  of  their  torment 
afcendeth  up,  for  ever  and  ever  :  and  they  have  no 
reft  day  nor  night,  who  worfhip  the  beaft  and 
his  image,  and  whofoever  receiveth  the  mark  of 
his  name/  Rev.  xix.  3.  *  And  her  fmoke  role 
up  for  ever  and  ever.1  Rev.  xx.  10.  ,*  And  the 
devil,  that  deceived  them,  was  call:  into  the 
lake  of  fire  and  brimffone,  where  the  beaft  and 
fhe  falfe  prophet  are,  and  fhall  be  tormented, 
day  and  night,  for  ever  and  ever.9 

Minifter.  I  confefs,Nyou  have  propofed  a  diffi- 
culty that  I  mould  jndge  to  beunanfwerable,  were 
it  not  for  the  following  confederations : 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  II 

\Jl,  If  for  ever  and  ever  is  a  longer  time  than^cr 
ever,  which  mull:  be  granted  ;  then  is  there  fome 
proportion  between  them  :  Thus,  if  for  ever  intends 
an  age,  period,  or  fometimes  ages;  for  ever  and  ever, 
may  intend  ages,  an  age  of  ages,  or  ages  of  ages  :  But 
any  proportion  at  all  between  two  periods,  fuppofes 
both  to  have  an  end,  or  there  could  be  no  propor- 
tion. 

2d!y,  I  find  a  time  promifed,  when,  s  there  mail 
be  no  more  death;  neither  ibrrow  nor  crying; 
neither  (hall  there  be  any  more  pain ;  for  the  for- 
mer things  are  (or  ihail  then  bej  pafTed  away. 
And  he  that  fat  upon  the  throne  laid,  Behold, 
I  make  all  things  new.  And  he  iaid  unto  me, 
(John)  Write ;  for  theft  words  are  true  and 
faithful.'     Rev.  xxi.  4,  5. 

^dly,  I  think  there  is  fufficient  reafon,  from  the 
words  of  St  Peter,  in  his  fecond  epiitle,  third  chap- 
ter, c,  6,  7,  1  o,  1 1,  12  verfes,  to  conclude,  that 
as  the  earth  was  once  overflowed  with  water,  and 
became  truly  a  lake  of  water,  wherein  the  world  of 
ungodly  men  periflied  ;  ib,  by  the  general  confla- 
gration, the  fame  (hall  become  literally  the  lake  of 
fire  and  brimftone,  in  which  the  wicked  (hall  be 
punifhed  after  the  day  or  judgment  :  But  I  alfo 
think,  that  the  13th  verfe  of  the  fame  chapter, 
compared  with  Rev.  xxi.  1.  Ifaiah  ixv.  j~.  Ixvi. 
22.  more  than  intimates,  that  the  new  heaven  and 
earth  mail  be  created  out  of  the  fubflance  of  the 
old,  diflblved  by  the  hie;  that  the  new  earth  (hall 
no  more  have  zfca  therein,  feems  to  imply,  that  in 
its  former  flare,  it  had  ifea,  or  why  this  expreiliop, 
■  And  there  was  no  more  lea.' — Now,  if  this  hy- 
pothecs is  right,  the  following  will  be  the  true 
flate  of  the  cafe  ;  viz. 

A  C  .  The 


12  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

The  lake  of  fire  is  exprefsly  declared  to  be  '  the 
fecond  death,'  Rev.  xx.  14.  The  earth,  in  its 
burnt,  melted,  and  diflblved  ftate,  will  be  the  ge- 
neral lake  of  fire  and  brimftone  ;  according  to  the 
verfes  above  cited  from  St.  Peter.  There  will  be 
a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth,  created  out  of  the 
fubftance  of  the  old,  in  which  there  will  be  no 
more  fea,  either  of  water,  or  of  liquid  fire  ;  confe- 
quently,  the  lake  of  fire,  or  fecond  death,  (which 
are  declared  to  be  fynonimous)  mult,  end ;  and, 
of  courfe,  the  punifhment  of  the  fecond  death 
mull  then  ceafe. 

j^thly,  Thefmoke  of  their  torment  is  to  afcend  up 
for  ever  and  ever,  and  they  are  to  be  tormented  day 
and  night :  But,  as  thefmoke  of  the  burning  earth 
muff  ceafe,  when  its  fubltance  is  entirely  diflblved 
or  melted,  and  all  combuftible  bodies  are  con- 
fumed  •,  and  as  it  is  intimated  in  Job  xxvi.  10.  that 
day  and  night  {hall  come  to  an  end  :  and  in  Rev. 
xxi.  25.  it  is  faid  of  the  New  Jerufalem,  '  And 
the  gates  of  it  {hall  not  be  fhut  at  all  by  day,  for 
there  (hall  be  no  night  there.'  For  all  theie 
reafons,  I  cannot  be  altogether  perfuaded,  that 
their  being  tormented  day  and  night,  for  ever  and 
ever,  during  which  time  the  fmoke  of  their  tor- 
ment mail  conflantly  afcend,  is  quite  equal  to 
endlefs  mifery  ,  efpecialiy  as  there  {hall  come  a  time 
when  death  fhall  be  no  more,  pain  fhall  be  no 
more,  fcrroiu  fhall  be  no  more,  fmoke  fhall  probably 
afcend  no  more,  and,  peradventure,  night  fhall  be 
no  more. 

$thfyi  But  the  great  reafon  of  all,  why  I  do  not 
conceive  thatj^r  ever  and  ever,  doth  certainly  in- 
tend endlefs  duration,  is,  becaufc  I  find  the  words  as 
often  ufed  for  times  and  periods,  that  muff  have 

an 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  I  3 

an  end,  as  you  find  them  ufed  for  the  mifery  of 

the  wicked.  You  bring  three  paflages,  which  are 
all  that  are  to  be  found  in  the  whole  Bible,  where 
they  are  ufed  in  that  fenfe  •,  I  fhall  now  invalidate 
thofe  evidences  for  cndlefs  damnation,  by  bringing 
an  equal  number  of  texts,  where  you  will  allow 
the  words  are  ufed  in  a  limited  fenfe. 

Friend.  Is  it  poflible  that  you  can  find  any  fuch 
paffages  in  the  Bible  ?  Pray  mew  them  to  me. 

Minifter.  Ifa.  xxx.  8.  'Now  go,  write  it  before 
them  in  a  table,  and  note  it  in  a  book,  that  it 
may  be  for  the  time  to  come,  fir  ever  and  ever.' 

See  Jer.  vii.  i  —  7.  The  7th  verfe  is,  '  Then 
will  I  caufe  you  to  dwell  in  this  place,  in  the 
land  that  I  gave  to  your  fathers,  for  ever  and 
ever.' 

Jer.  xxv.  5.  *  Turn  ye  again,  now,  every  one 
from  his  evil  way,  and  every  one  from  the  evil 
of  your  doings,  and  dwell  in  the  land  that  Je- 
hovah hath  given  unto  you,  and  to  your  fa- 
thers, for  ever  and  ever' 

Thefe  paflages  are  as  many,  and  as  flrongly  ex- 
preiTed,  as  thofe  which  you  brought  to  prove  end- 
lefs  mi/cry ;  and  yet  nothing  can  be  more  evident 
than  that  they  cannot  intend  endlefs  duration. — 
Here,  thefe  periods  mud  be  limited  by  the  great 
conflagration  \  and  thus  (for  ought  that  appears  as 
yet)  the  mifery  of  the  wicked  may  be  limited,  not- 
withftanding  the  ufe  of  thofe  expreflions,  to  fet 
forth  its  dreadful  continuance  to  unknown  ages ; 
atleaft,  thofe  words  do  not  neceffarily  imply,  that 
they  fhall  never,  as  long  as  God  lives,  be  delivered 
from  their  fins  and  confequent  fufferings. 

If  we  were  always  to  read  for  ever  and  ever, 
endless,  we  fhould  fet  the  Scriptures  at  variance ; 

and 


14  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

and  no  criticifm  could  ever  reconcile  them.  Try, 
for  inftance,  to  reconcile  Pfalm  cii,  25,  26,  with 
Pfalm  cxlviii.  6.  c  Of  old  haft  thou  laid  the  foun- 
dation of  the  earth,  and  the  heavens  are  the 
work  of  thy  hands.  They  fhall  perifh,  but  thou 
fhalt  endure  ;  yea,  all  of  them  (hall  wax  old  like 
a  garment ;  as  a  vefture  fhalt  thou  change  them, 
and  they  mail  be  changed. — He  hath  alfo  efta- 
blifhed  them^r  ever  and  ever :  he  hath  made  a 
decree  which  fhall  not  pafs.' 

Now,  if  the  words  for  ever  and  ever,  fignifv 
without  end,  then  there  is  a  contradiction  that  can- 
not be  reconciled  •,  but  only  underftand  them  ages 
of  ages,  (as,  indeed,  they  ought  to  be  rendered)  and 
the  whole  difficulty  vanifhes  at  once. 

Suppcfe  a  perfon  mould  read  Rev.  xx.  H.  and 
xxi.  1.  £  And  I  law  a  great  white  throne,  and 
him  that  fat  upon  it,  from  whofe  face  the  earth 
and  the  heaven  lied  away  ;  and  there  was  found 
no  place  for  them.  And  I  faw  a  new  heaven, 
and  a  new  earth  ;  for  the  firft  heaven  and  the 
firft  earth  were  paffed  away;  and  there  was  no 
more  fea  -,'  And  mould  then  fay,  Thefe  virions 
cannot  be  true,  becaufe  Solomon  hath  faid,  *  One 
generation  paffeth  away,  and  another  cometh, 
but  the  earth  abideth  for  ever,'  Ecelef!  I.  4.  And 
God  *  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth,  that  it 
mould  not  be  removed,  for  ever,"  Pfal.  civ.  4. 
The  world  alfo  is  eftablifhed  that  it  cannot  be 
moved,'  Pfal.  xciii.  1.  See  alfo  ITal.  Ixxviii.  69. 
and  xcvi.  10.  What  would  yon  think  of  inch 
reafoning  ?  Jufl  io  weak,  muff,  all  the  reafoning 
againfr.  the  univcrfal  Reftoration  be,  from  the 
words  for  titer,  and  for  ever  and  ever,  being 
plied  to  fhtcs  of  future  milery,  if  God  has  prom  i£ 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  1 5 

ed  to  put  an  end  to  them  all,  by  reconciling  all 
things  to  himfelf,  deflroying  fin,  and  introducing 
a  new  creation,  and  a  Itate  of  univerfal  and  per- 
manent happinefs :  For,  if  fuch  promifes  real- 
ly exift,  and  their  exiftence  can  be  demonftrat- 
ed,  all  reafoning  againft  them  muft  be  vain  and 
futile. 

Friend.  It  is  certain,  that  when  the  word  for 
everis  applied  to  things  of  this  life  and  world,  it 
intends  a  period ;  but  when  applied  to  fpiritual 
matters,  and  things  of  another  world,  it  mult,  be 
endlefs,  according  to  my  judgment ;  and  I  am  apt 
to  think,  you  will  find  it  fo  too. 

Mintfler.  I  am  certain  that  you  will  foon  be 
convinced  to  the  contrary.  The  apoftle,  fpeaking 
of  Chrift,  lays,  f  But  this  man,  after  he  had  of- 
fered one  facrifice  for  fins,  for  ever  fat  down  on 
the  right  hand  of  God  ;  from  henceforth,  ex- 
pecting till  his  enemies  be  made  his  footftool," 
Hcb.  x.  12,  13.  You  will  pleafe  to  notice,  that 
ChriiVs  fitting  down  in  the  heavens,  on  the  right 
hand  of  God,  is  not  a  circumftance  belonging  to 
this  world,  or  the  things  of time  j  and  he  is  is  tout 
there  for  ever  ;  and  yet  that  period,  which,  ac- 
cording to  your  hypothefis,  muff  be  endiefsy  is  ex- 
prefsly  limited  by  the  facred  writings  :  The  hea- 
vens have  received  him,  c  until  the  times  (feafons, 
yes)  of  reftitution  of  all  things,'  (that  is, 
till  the  beginning,  and  not  the  ending  of  thofe 
times)  which  God  hath  fpoken  of  by  the  mouth 
of  all  his  holy  prophets  fince  world  began,'  Acts, 
iii.  ai.  And  the  whole  New  Teftament  teacheth 
us,  to  wait  for  the  coming  of  Jefus,  from  heaven  ; 
(1  Thef.  i.  10.)  which  would  be  highly  abfurd, 
upon  the  fuppofition,  that  he  is  always  to  abide 

there  : 


l6  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

there  :  Which  yet  he  muff,  if  the  word  for  ever, 
as  applied  to  things  of  another  Itate,  intends  endlefs 
duration. 

Friend.  I  confeis,  I  never  obferved  this  before  : 
But,  do  you  know  of  any  pafTage  in  the  New 
Teflament,  where  the  words,  for  ever  and  ever, 
certainly  intend  limited  duration  ?  For  I  obferved, 
that  ail  the  inltances  you  brought  were  from  the 
Old  Teflament. 

Minifler.  Yes  :  Heb.  i.  8.  But  unto  the  Son  he 
faith,  '  Thy  throne,  (in  diflinction  from  the  throne 
of  the  Father)  O  God,  is  for  ever  and  ever;'' 
yet  we  read,  (i  Cor.  xv.  24,  28.)  of  the  end,  when 
he  fhail  have  '  delivered  up  the  kingdom  to  God, 
even  the  Father  •,  when  he  fhall  have  put  down 
all  rule,  and  all  authority  and  power  :  then  (hall 
the  Son  alio  himielf,  be  fubjea  unto  him  that 
put  all  things  under  him,  that  God  may  be  all 
in  all.' 

Friend.  But  when  Chrlft  threatened  fmners, 
with  eve'rlafting  fire,  everlajling  pumihinent,  and 
eternal  damnation  •,  did  not  his  expreffions  natural- 
ly convey  the  idea  of  endlefs  mifery  ?  And  may  not 
the  Son  of  God  be  accuied  of  duplicity  and  deceit, 
if  he  did  not  mean  to  denounce  puhijhinent  without 
end  ?  And,  therefore,  if  we  believe  his  words  to  be 
true,  as  moil  certainly  they  are,  we  muft  reject 
the  doctrine  of  the  Reftoration,  which  puts  an 
end  to  a  ftate,  which  is  called  everlafimg,  by  the 
mouth  of  truth  iticif. — Are  you  able  to  aniwer  this 
fairly  ? 

M'wifter.  If  I  am  not  able  to  anfwer  this  objec- 
tion, which  you  have  ftated  in  the  flrongeil  man- 
ner, I  affure  you,  I  will  confeis  myfe-if  in  an  error  -, 
and  fhail  thank  you,  (as  an  inftrumtnt)  for  bring- 
ing 


t  UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  1 7 

g  me  to  know  it.  The  lame  objection  that  you 
ake  againft  theReftoration,  the  Jews  make  againft: 
hrift  and  his  religion ;  for  they  argue  thus  :  God 
is  an  unchangeable  Being,  and  he  declared,  in  the 
moll  lblemn  manner,  that  the  ordinances  of  the 
Levitical  difpenfation  mould  be  everlajling,  and  the 
anointing  of  Aaron's  ions  mould  be  an  everlajling 
priefthood,  throughout  their  generations  ;  (See 
Exod.  xl.  15.  and  Lev.  xvi.  34.)  and,  therefore, 
v/e  mud  reject  the  Meiliah  of  the  Chriftians,  as  an 
impoftor  ;  inafmuch,  as  he  pretends  toabolim  thofe 
ftatutes,  which  God  hath  called  everlajiingy  and  to 
let  himfelf  up  as  aPrieft,  contrary  to  the  exprefs 
promife  of  the  Lord,  who  cannot  lye,  nor  repent, 
that  Aaron  and  his  fons  Ihould  have  an  everlajling 
priefthood  -,  and,  therefore,  if  this  is  the  true 
Mefliah,  God  meant  to  deceive  us,  when  he  pro- 
mifed  thefe  everhjling  bleffings,  and  privileges, 
which,  we  mull  fuppofe  were  only  for  a  time, 
if  Chriftianity  be  true  ;  therefore,  we  reject  it, 
as  being  inconfiftent  with  the  promifes  of  God. 

It  is  evident,  from  this  view  of  the  matter,  that 
the  Jews  reject  Chrift  and  his  religion,  upon  as 
good  ground,  as  you  reject  the  univerfal  Reftora- 
tion,  and  perhaps  better  •,  for  you  have  nothing 
to  plead  againft  the  P^eftoration,  but  fome  threaten- 
ings  of  piiniihments,  which  are  called  everlajiingy 
or  eternal^  in  our  tranflation  -,  but  they  plead  ex- 
prefs promifes  of  the  everlajling  continuance  of 
their  church-Irate  and  worfhip,  in  oppofition  to 
Chriftianity.  But,  if  it  be  true,  that  both  the  He- 
brew and  Greek  words,  which  our  translators 
have  rendered  by  the  Englifh  word  everlajling,  do 
not  intend  endlefs  duration,  but,  a  hidden  period,  or 
periods i  then  the  ground  is  changed  at  once,  and 

the 


1 8  DIALOGUES   ON    THE 

the  Jews  have  no  right  to  object  againft  Chriftiam- 
ty,  becaufe  God  promifed  a  continuance  of  their 
temple  wor  (hip,  fore  certain  age,  or,  hidden  period  ; 
nor  the  Chriflians  to  reject  the  univerfol  Reftora- 
tion,  becaufe  God  hath  threatened  the  rebellious 
with  fuch  dreadful  punifhments,  which  (hall  en- 
dure through  periods,  expreffed  in  the  fame  terms. 
It  is  indeed  confeffed  by  fome  of  the  molt,  learned 
Jews,  that  they  have  no  word  in  their  language, 
which  abfolutely  fignifies  endlefs  duration ;  and 
therefore,  they  can  only  argue  the  endlefs  continu- 
ance of  any  thing  from  its  nature,  and  not  merely 
from  the  words  rendered  for  ever,  or  everlafing. 
And,  if  this  is  the  truth  of  the  cafe,  (as  who  can 
deny  it  ?)  then,  neither  did  Jehovah  fpeak  to  de- 
ceive the  Children  of  Ifrael,  when  he  promifed 
them  bleffmgs  of  fuch  long  continuance,  which 
have  ended  iong  ago,  and  which  are  never  to  be 
reftored  by  virtue  of  that  covenant  which  he  made 
with  their  fathers,  when  he  brought  them  out  of 
Egypt  :  but  by  the  new  covenant,  which  he  will 
make  with  them,  when  he  mall  return  them  to 
their  own  land  ;  nor  did  the  Son  of  God  fpeak  to 
deceive,  when  he  threatened  the  wicked  with  thofe 
punimmentG,  which  fhall  not  end  //'//  they  have  an* 
fwered  the  purpofes  for  which  it  fecms  reafonable  to 
believe  they  pall  he  inflicted;  viz.  to  bring  them 
down,  and  humble  their  proud  andftubborn  hearts; 
which  fhall  be  done,  during  the  periods  of  his 
kingdom,  before  he  (hall  have  delivered  it  up  to 
the  Father,  that  God  may  be  all  in  at.t.. 

Friend.  But  if  I  mould  grant  that  the  word 
aionion  doth  not  even  in  the  New  Tcftament  always 
fignify  endlefs  duration,  yet  what  would  yon  gain 
by  it,  fmceit  is  plain  that  Chrifthatfa  let  the  happi- 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  IO 

nefs  of  the  righteous,  and  the  mifery  of  the  wicked, 
one  againfr.  the  other  ;  and  hath  expreffed  the  con- 
tinuance of  both,  by  the  fame  word,  aionion,  in  St. 
Matth.  xxv.  46  ?  Here,  the  punifnment  of  the 
wicked,  and  the  life  of  the  righteous,  are  both 
declared  to  be  aionion,  or  eternal,  without  diftinc- 
tion :  Now,  can  you  fhew  me  any  paffage  of 
Scripture,  where  the  fame  word  is  applied  to 
two  different  things,  whofe  exigence  is  not  the 
lame,  or  the  time  of  their  continuance  not  alike  ? 

Minifter.  Fairly  dated  !  And,  if  it  be  not  as 
fairly  anfwered,  it  fliall  be  looked  upon  as  an  infu- 
perable  difficulty.  But,  happily,  there  is  a  paf- 
fage, in  Hab.  iii.  6.  where  the  fame  word  is  ufed 
for  very  different  things ;  '  He  ftood,  and  meafured 
the  earth  :  he  beheld,  and  drove  afunder  the  na- 
tions »  and  the  everlafiing  mountains  were  fcat- 
tered,  the  perpetual  hills  did  bow  :  his  ways  are 
everlafing?  In  our  tranllation,  the  mountains, 
and  the  ways  of  God,  are  called  everlafiing,  and 
the  hills  perpetual;  but,  in  the  original,  the  word 
gnad  is  applied  to  the  mountains,  and  the  word 
n  to  the  hills,  and  the  ways  of  God.  But 
whether  we  argue  from  the  original,  or  from  the 
translation,  it  makes  no  difference :  The  qutftion 
is,  Are  the  mountains,  or  the  hills,  eternal  in  the 
fame  fenfe  in  which  the  ways  of  God  are  ?  If  fo, 
the  earth  muff  have  exiffed  coeval  with  the  ways 
of  Jehovah,  and  the  hills,  and  mountains,  muft 
never  be  removed,  while  his  ways  endure  ;  and, 
as  his  ways  can  never  be  deftroyed,  the  abfolute 
eternity,  not  of  the  earth  only,  but  of  its  prefent 
form,  its  mountains  and  hills,  mult  be  inferred  : 
contrary  to  Ifaiah  xl.  4.  xliv.  10 — Ezek.  xxxviii. 
2c— 7  Pet.  '.*.i.  7,  10,  11,  12.— Rev.  xvi.  2c.  x;s. 

11.  — 


20  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 


ii. — Nay,  even  in  this  very  text,  the  ways  of 
God  are  ipoken  of  as  being  of  a  different  nature 
from  the  mountains,  which  v/zxefcattered,  and  the 
hills,  which  did  how. 

Thus,  no  folid  argument  can  be  drawn  from 
the  application  of  the  fame  word  to  different  things, 
to  prove  that  they  mail  be  equal  in  their  continu- 
ance, unlefs  their  nature  be  the  fame. 

Thus,  in  the  Greek  New  Teflament,  in  Rom. 
xvi.  25.  we  read  of  the  myflery  which  hath  been 
kept  fecret,  from  Chronois  aionioisy  and,  in  the  26th 
verfe,  we  find,  that  it  is  now  made  known  by  the 
commandment  Tou  aionion  Theou.  But  mull  it  be 
argued  that  becaufe  aiontou  is  applied  to  times,  and 
aionion  to  God  •,  therefore,  times  are  as  ancient  as 
Jehovah,  and  mud  continue  while  he  exills  ?  The 
abfurdity  of  this  is  too  glaring.  Our  tranflators 
have  rendered  Chronois  aioniois ,  c  fince  the  word  be- 
ganj  inflead  c  of  eternal  times ;'  and  have  thereby 
fhewn  their  judgement  to  be,  that  words  cannot 
change  the  fubjects  to  which  they  are  applied,  but 
the  meaning  of  the  words  muft  be  determined  by 
the  nature  of  the  fubjects. 

In  Jer.  xxviii.  8.  the  word  hegnolam  is  ufed  in  the 
Hebrew  \  but  the  tranflators  did  not  think  them- 
felves  obliged  to  render  it  c  from  everlqflingj  or, 
from  eternity  ;'  as  it  would  have  been  highly  ab- 
furd  to  have  read,  eternal  prophets,  or  prophets 
which  were  from  eternity  ;  and  have  therefore  ren- 
dered it  '  of  old,  though  it  is  a  flronger  word 
than  gnady  which  they  have  tranflated  '  eternity, 
in  Ifa.  lvii.  15. 

Many  other  inflances  of  the  like  nature,  might 
be  brought ;  but  theie  are  fully  fufflcient  to  con- 
Yince  any  unprejudiced  mind,  that  nothing  can  be 

concluded 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  II 

concluded  in  favour  of  endlefs  pimiJJjment,  from  the 
word  aionkn  being  ufed  to  let  forth  the  duration  of 
it,  as  well  as  the  duration  of  that  life  which  our 
Saviour  promifes  to  the  righteous. 

But  upon  the  fuppofition  that  our  Saviour  intends 
no  more  by  the  <  life  eternal,'  in  the  46th  verfe  of 
the  xxvth  of  St.  Matthew's  gofpel,  than  he  doth 
in  the  34th  verfe,  by  ■  the  kingdom  prepared  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world.'  (which  it  would  be 
hard  to  prove)  then  an  anfwer  might  be  given, 
without  all  this  labour,  in  this  manner ;  viz.  that 
as  the  Father  hath  appointed  Chrift  a  kingdom,  fo 
he  hath  alfo  appointed  his  faints  a  kingdom  ;  (See 
St.  Luke,  xxii.  29,  30.  Rev.  ii.  26,  27.  iii.  21.)  but 
as  the  kingdom  which  the  Father  hath  given  to 
Chrift,  as  Mediator,  and  as  Judge,  fhall  ^W,  when 
he  fhall  have  fubdued  all  things,  and  put  down  all 
rule,  and  authority,  and  power  •,  (See  1  Cor.  xv. 
24,  25,  26,  27,  28.)  fo,  of  confequence,  that 
kingdom  which  is  given  to  the  faints  or  overcom- 
ers,  to  fubdue  the  nations,  fhall  alfo  end,  when  they 
mall  be  all  fubdued,  and  brought  to  fubmit.  But 
as  the  glory  of  Chrift  fhall  not  be  Ietfened,  but  in- 
creafedy  when  God  fhall  be  all  in  all  ;  fo  the 
happinefs  of  the  faints  fhall  be  fo  far  from  end- 
ing, or  being  dtmin'tjhfdy  at  that  period,  that  it 
fhall  then  arrive  at  the  fummit  of  perfection  ;  but 
fhall  never  clofe,  nor  decreafe,  while  Jehovah 
endures. 

Some  time  ago,  a  woman  came  to  hear  me,  and 
I  happened  to  mention  in  my  fermon,  thatChrift's^ 
mediatorial  kingdom  was  called  evcrlajting,  or  ai- 
on'io7i  \  but  that  it  mujl  come  to  an  end,  when  the 
kingdom  fhould  be  delivered  up  to  the  Father, 
when  he  fhould  have  put  down  all  rule,  and  all 

autho- 


22  DIALOCUES    ON    THS 

authority  and  power.  After  fermon,  fhe  was  alli- 
ed, how  fhe  liked  ?  She  anfwered,  «  Not  at  all : 
he  fays,  The  everlafling  kingdom  of  Chrift  mail 
end  ;  and  I  never  heard  of  fuch  a  thing  before 
in  all  my  life  •,  and  I  am  fure  it  muff,  be  contrary 
to  Scripture/  The  perfon  who  afked  her,  told 
her,  that  there  was  fuch  a  text  fomewhere,  me 
could  not  tell  exactly  where  to  find  it.  But  the 
woman  perfifted  in  it,  that  there  was  no  fuch 
text  -,  and  went  away,  full  of  prejudice.  Now, 
had  this  paffage  of  Scripture  been  in  the  Book 
of  the  Revelations,  it  would  not  have  been  fo 
much  to  be  wondered  at,  that  (he  had  never  heard 
of  it  *,  but  when  we  confider,  that  this  is  expreff- 
ed  in  that  part  of  the  15th  chapter  of  St.  Paul's 
firffc  epiflle  to  the  Corinthians,  which  is  in  the  bid- 
rial  fer  vice — what  mail  we  fay  ? 

Thus,  if  ChrijTs  klngdoinJ?jj/I  end,  much  more 
Satan's !  If  rewards,  as  fuch,  mall  ceafe ;  how 
much  more  punijhments !  If  the  everlafling  king- 
dom of  the  faints,  which  they  fhall  po fiefs /or  ever 
and  ever,  (See  Dan.  vii  18,  27.)  (hail  end,  or  be 
fwallowed  up  in  that  kingdom  of  boundiefs  love, 
where  God  fhall  be  all  in  all;  how  much 
much  more,  fhall  all  fin,  pain,  forrow,  and  death, 
ceafe,  and  have  no  more  a  name  in  God's  crea- 
tion ! 

Friend.  But  fuppofing  the  doctrine  of  endlefs 
mlfery  to  be  a  truth,  how  would  you  expect  to 
find  it  expreffed  in  the  Bible  ? 

MiniJJer.  I  ihould  have  a  right  to  expect,  in 
the  fir  ft  place,  that  there  would  be  no  promiles  in 
tire  Scripture  to  the  contrary;  no  fach  paflages  as 
thefe:  •  For  I  have  fworn  by  myfelf,  the  word  is 
gone    out    of  my   mouth   in  righteouiheis,    and 

«  fliall 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  2J 

fhall  not  return ;  that  unto  me  every  knee  fhall 
bow,  and  every  tongue  fhall  fwear  ;'  Ifaiah  xlv. 
23.  Mind  well,  every  tongue  shall  swear. 
Swearing  allegiance,  as  every  civilian  will  tell  you, 
implies  pardon,  reception,  and  protection,  on  the  part 
of  the  king  ;  and  a  hearty  renouncing  of  rebellion, 
truefubjeclion,  and  willing  obedience,  on  the  part  of 
the  rebels.  Kings  of  the  earth  may  be  deceived, 
but  God  cannot  -  he  will  never  accept  of  any  feign- 
ed fubjeclion  ;  and,  therefore,  all  that  fwear,  fhall 
fwear  in  truth  and  righteouihefs  ;  fo  fhall  rebellion 
ceafe,  and  difobedience  be  no  more. 

The  apoftle  St.  Paul,  feems  to  quote  this  pa£- 
fage  of  Scripture  with  iome  variation,  in  his  epif- 
tie  to  the  Philippians,  chap.  ii.  9,  10,  1 1 ;  where, 
ipeaking  of  the  fufFerings  of  Chrift,  and  the  con- 
iequences  of  the  fame,  he  fays,  '  Wherefore  God 
hath  highly  exalted  him,  and  given  him  a 
a  name,  which  is  abo .  e  every  name ;  that  at  (or 
in)  the  name  of  ytfiu  every  knee  fhall  bow,  of 
things  in  heaven,  arid  things  in  earth,  ai.d  things 
under  the  earth  ;  and  that  every  tongue  mould 
confefs  that  Jcfius  Chrift  is  Lord,  to  the  glory  of 
God  the  Father.'  Now,  this  confeffion  appears 
tome  to   imply   a  wrftfngfutftfi  .      Verity 

of  i>.  r,  brought  about  by  die  operation  cf 

bleifed  Spirit;  for  the  fame  apcitie  iaith, 
Wherefore,  I  give  ,  on  to  understand,  that  no 
man,  ipeaking  by  . '.t   ct  GoJ,  ealleth  Je- 

fus  accurfcd  ;  and  r>o  man  can  lay  that  Jefus  is 
the    Lord,  but  by  the  Holy  GhoiV   1  Cor.  xii.  3. 

Then  i\.  -r,  thrown  into  a  lyllogiftical 

fori-  .  a  thus  : 

It  (  1  ;  bow,  of  things  in   heaven. 

and 


14  rilALOCUES    ON    THE 

and  things  in  earth,  and  things  under  the  earth ; 
then  fhall  all  rebellion  ceafe. 

But  the  firfl  is  true ;  therefore,  alfo  the  lafr. 
If  every  tongue  (hall  confefs  that  Jefus  Chrift  is 
Lord,  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father ;  and  no 
man  can  fay  that  Jefus  is  the  Lord,  but  by  the 
Holy  Ghoft-,  then  fhall  the  Holy  Ghoft  work 
effectually  in  every  man.  As  the  major  is  proved, 
by  Phil.  ii.  n.  and  the  minor,  by  i  Cor.  xii.  3, 
the  conclufion  mufl  be  evident  to  a  demonftra- 
tion. 

Friend.  I  acknowledge,  that  in  the  prefent 
ftate,  no  man  can  fay  that  Jefus  is  the  Lord,  but 
by  the  Holy  Ghoft ;  but  when  they  fhall  ftand 
before  his  bar,  they  fhall  confefs  him  Lord,  to  the 
glory  of  God  the  Father,  by  force. 

Minifter.  But  St.  Paul  fpeaks  generally,  %  that 
no  man  can  fay  that  Jefus  is  the  Lord,  but  by  the 
Holy  Ghoft :'  He  does  not  mention  time  or  place, 
but  reprefents  the  matter  importable ;  befides  every 
expreffion  here  ufed,  implies  a  willing,  and  not  a 
forced  fubjeclion ;  as  bowing  in  the  name  of  Jefus, 
and  confefIing  him  to  be  Lord  of  all,  to  the  glory 
of  God  the  Father. 

Friend.  But  we  are  fometimes  told,  that  God 
is  as  much  glorified  by  the  eternal  damnation  of 
fome,  as  by  the  eternal  falvation  of  others. 

Minifter.  I  have,  indeed,  heard  fome  afTert  the 
fame :  But  as  the  glory  of  God  is  the  ultimate 
end  of  all  that  he  doth,  we  may  properly  afk,  why 
he  fhould  take  any  pains  to  fave  mankind  ? 

But,  above  all,  there  is  one  objection  that  may 
be  brought  againft  this  idea,  which  is  hard  to  an- 
fwer  •,  and  that  is,  God  hath  faid,  ■  For  I  have  no 
<pleafurc  in  the  death  of  him  that  dieth,  faith  the 

1  Lord 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  IS 

Lord  God.  Say  unto  them,  As  I  live,  faith  the 
Lord  God,  I  have  no  pleafure  in  the  death  of 
the  wicked  ;  but  that  the  wicked  turn  from  his 
way,  and  live  :  turn  ye,  turn  ye,  from  your  evil 
ways ;  for  why  will  ye  die,  O  Houfe  of  Ifrael  ?' 
Ezek.  xviii.  23.  xxxiii.  11.  It  is  evident  to  me, 
that  God  muft  take  pleafure  in  what  glorifies  his 
name  •,  and  as  he  hath  fworn,  that  he  takes  no 
pleafure  at  all  in  the  death  of  the  wicked,  it  muft  be 
fet  down  for  a  truth,  rh^xtpuni/Jmient,  without  hav- 
ing the  reformation  and  fubjection  of  rebels  for  its 
end,  is  unworthy  of  the  Being  we  adore  ;  and  even 
now,  it  is  called,  '  hisjlrange  iuork>'  and  '  hisjlrangt 
aft?  But  to  proceed :  If  endlefs  mifery  were  a 
truth,  I  ihould  not  expect  that  the  myftery  of  the 
will  of  God,  which  he  hath  made  known  unto  his 
chofen,  according  to  his  good  pleafure,  which  he 
hath  pnrpofed  in  himfelf,  would  be,  *  That,  in  the 
difpeniation  of  the  fulnefs  of  times,  he  might  ga- 
ther together  in  one,  {or  rehead)  all  things  in 
Chrift,  both  which  are  in  heaven,  and  which  are 
in  earth,'  Ephef.  i.  9,  10.  Far  lefs  mould  I 
expect  to  find,  that  «  It  pleafed  the  Father  that  in 
him  mould  all  fulnefs  dwell \  and,  having  made 
peace  by  the  blood  of  his  crofs,  by  him,  to  recon- 
cile all  things  to  himfelf ;  by  him,  I  fay,  whether 
they  be  things  in  earth,  or  things  in  heaven.' 
Col.  i.  19,  20.  And  I  am  not  able  to  imagine, 
how  St.  John's  vifion  (Rev.  v.  13.)  could  bejuft, 
if  endlefs  damnation  is  true,  where  he  fays,  *  And 
every  creature  who  is  in  heaven,  and  on  the 
earth,  and  under  the  earth,  and  fuch  as  are  in  the 
fea,  and  all  that  are  in  them,  heard  I,  faying, 
Blefling,  and  honour,  and  glory,  and  power,  be 
unto  him  that  fitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto 
the  Lamb,  for  ever  and  ever.'  In  the  nature  of 
B  things 


C!6  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

things,  it  appears  impoffible  to  me  to  believe  ttoefe 
paffages  to  be  ft  rift  ly  and  literally  true,  if  endlefs 
mifery  be  a  truth  :  Therefore  I  fay,  that  I  ftiould 
not  expect  any  intimations ,  far  lefs  abfolute  promifes  > 
that  God  would  deftroy  death,  the  works  of  the 
devil,  and  make  all  things  new,  with  many  others 
of  the  like  nature. 

We  find  it  prornifed,  that  every  knee  (hall  bow  : 
and  left  fome  might  fay,  that  every  knee,  meant  only 
fane  knees,  it  is  explained  by  the  infpired  apoftle, 
to  mean  all  things  in  heaven,  and  in  earth,  and 
under  the  earth  :  and  not  only  fo,  but  every  tongue 
fhaliy^rar,  and  cenfefs  that  Jelus  Chrift  is  Lord,  to 
the  glory  of  God  the  Father  -,  which  could  not  be, 
except  all  were  reconciled  to  him,  whether  things 
in  heaven,  or  things  in  earth  :  Wherefore,  this  is 
alfo  prornifed  ;  and,  in  confequence  of  their  being 
fubdued,  humbled,  made  obedient,  and  reconcile  J, 
they  (hall  be  reheaded  in  Chrijl ' ;  never  more  to  go 
aftray,  nor  break  that  band  of  eternal  union,  which 
mall  bind  all  together  in  one  body,  joined  to  one 
head;  and  all  fhall  give  never-ceafmg  praife  to 
God  and  the  Lamb,  world  without  end. 

As  endlefs  damnation  appears  to  me  to  be  again/I 
the  promifes,  I  cannot  hold  it  as  an  article  of  my 
faith  *,  but  were  there  no  promifes  or  intimations 
to  the  contrary  in  Scripture,  I  mould  not  require 
it  to  be  threatened  in  any  ftronger  terms  than  it  is; 
I  fhould  believe  it  as  a  truth,  though  I  might  not 
be  able,  at  prefent,  to  fee  the  propriety  and  equity 
thereof;  I  mould  never  fuifer  my  weak  reafon  to 
gainfay  Divine  Revelation  :  But  my  difficulty  arifes 
from  thefe  exprefs  promifes  of  God,  which  com- 
pofe  fo  great  a  part  of  that  book  which  is  given  us 
as  a  rule  of  faith  and  practice  ;  and  which  promi- 
fes 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  27 

fcs  exprefsly  affert  a  future  ftate  of  things  beyond 
fin,  forrow,  pain,  and  death  of  every  kind ;  when 
all  things  fhall  be  made  new  •,  and  death,  the  laft 
enemy  of  God,  Chrift,  and  man,  mall  be  deftroy- 
ed,  fwallowed  up  in  victory ;  and  fin,  which  is 
its  fling,  mail  be  no  more  in  exigence  •,  and  tears 
{hall  be  all  wiped  away,  from  all  faces. 

But,  though  I  have  acknowledged  that  I  mould 
not  dare  to  difpute  the  doctrine  of  endlefs damnation , 
unlefs  God  had  given  intimations ;  and  evenpromifes, 
to  the  contrary  ♦,  fince  I  find  feveral  dreadful  threat- 
enings  in  Scripture,  in  which  the  word  aionion,  or 
everlajiing,  is  joined  with  the  punifhment  of  the 
wicked ;  yet,  a  very  little  attention  will  fhew  us, 
that  the  felicity  of  the  righteous  is  promifed  in 
much  ftronger  language,  than  the  mifery  of  the 
wicked  is  threatened,  in  the  Scriptures. 

I  remark,  in  the  firit  place,  that  the  word  aio- 
nion, rendered  everlafting,  or  eternal,  is  ufed  much 
oftener  in  St.  John's  gofpel  alone,  to  exprefs  the 
continuance  of  the  life,  or  well-being,  of  the  righ- 
teous, than  it  is  ufed  in  the  whole  Bible,  to  ex- 
prefs the  mifery  of  the  wicked ;  and  this  remark 
is  ftrengthened  by  obferving,  that  he  never  once 
ufes  the  word  in  his  whole  gofpel,  nor  in  his  epii- 
tles,  to  fet  forth  the  duration  of  punifhment.  See 
St.  John,  iii.  15,  16,  36.  iv.  14.  v.  24.  vi.  27, 
40,  47,  54,  68.  x.  28.  xii.  25,  50.  xvii.  ver.  2, 
3.  in  all  which  pafTages,  the  word  aionion  is  ufed 
to  exprefs  the  continuance  of  the  well-being  of 
the  righteous. 

But,  not  to  infift  on  this  :  I  obferve,  that  there 

are  many  fi ronger  expreffions  (even  in  our  tranfla- 

tion)  to  fet  forth  the  well-being  of  the  righteous, 

than  any  that  are  ufed  as  connected  with  the  mifery 

B  2  of 


28  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

of  the  wicked.  Ifaiah,  xlv.  17.  we  read,  <  Ifra- 
el  fhall  be  faved  in  Jehovah,  with  an  ever  la/ling 
falvation  ;  ye  fhall  not  be  afhamed,  nor  confound- 
ed, world  without  end.1  But  where  do  we  read, 
that  the  mifery  of  the  wicked  (hall  have  no  end? 
The  word  end/efs,  or  world  without  end,  is  never 
once  ufed  by  our  tranflators,  to  exprefs  the  eterni- 
ty of  punifhment,  in  the  whole  Bible. 

We  read,  in  1  Pet.  i.  4.  of  «  an  inheritance,  in- 
corruptible, and  undefiled  ;  and  that  fadeth  ?iot  a- 
tvay,  reierved  in  heaven  :'  and  in  chap.  v.  4.  of 
*  a  crown  of  glory,   that  fadeth  not  away  :*  and, 
Heb.  xii.  28.  of  a  c  kingdom,  which   cannot  be 
moved  :'  And  our  bleffed  Saviour's  words  are  re- 
markably ftrong  upon  this   fubjecl,  in  many  pla- 
ces *,  as,  in  St.  Luke's  gofpel,   chap.  xx.  35,  36, 
where  he  fays,  i  But  they  who  fhall  be  accounted 
worthy  to  obtain  that  world,  and  the  (firft)  refur- 
reclion  from  the  dead,  neither  marry,  nor  are  giv- 
en in  marriage  :  neither  can  they  die  any  more  :  for 
they  are  equal  unto  the  angels  ;  and  are  the  chil- 
dren of  God,  being  the  children  of  the  refurrec- 
tion  :'  And  in  St.  John,  x.  27,   28,  29.  we  read 
thus  :  '  My   fheep   hear   my  voice,  and  I  know 
them,  and  they  follow  me :  and  I  give  unto  them 
eternal  life  :  and  they  fhall   never  periJJj,  neither 
fhall  any  pluck  them  out  of  my  hand.     My  Fa- 
ther, who  gave  them  me,  is  greater  than  all ;  and 
none  is  able  to   pluck  them  out  of  My  Father's 
hand.'     In  chap.  xi.  25,  26.  Chrift  fays,    *  I  am 
the  refurrecYion  and  the  life :  he  that  believeth  in 
me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  fhall  he  live:  And 
whofoever  liveth  and  believeth  in  me,  fhall   never 
die'     And,  in  chap.  vi.  50.  he  fays,  '  This  is  the 
bread  that  cometh  down  from  heaven,  that  a  man 

may 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  ?0 

may  eat  thereof,  and  not  die?  And  he  exprefTes 
the  perpetuity  of  heavenly  blifs,  and  of  our  en- 
joyment of  the  fame,  by  advifirig  us,  faying,  *  Lay 
up  for  yourfelves  trealures  in  heaven  ;  where  nei- 
ther moth  nor  ruft  doth  corrupt,  and  where 
thieves  do  not  break  through  nor  (leal.  Fear  not, 
little  flock  ;  for  it  is  your  Father's  good  pleafure 
to  give  you  the  kingdom.  Sell  that  ye  have,  and 
give  alms  :  provide  yourfelves  bags  which  wax 
not  old,  a  treafure  in  the  heavens  that  faileth  not  •, 
where  no  thief  approacheth,  neither  moth  corrup- 
ted,' St.  Matth.  vi.  20.  and  St.  Luke,  xii.  32,  33. 
This  is  that  which  St.  Paul  calleth  '  a  better  and 
an  enduring  fubftance,'  Heb.  x.  34.  But  what 
mail  I  fay  of  the  apoftle's  words,  2  Cor.  iv.  7  ? 
'  For  our  light  affliction,  which  is  but  for  a  mo- 
ment, worketh  for  us,  hath  hyperbolen  eis  hyperbolen 
aionion  baros  doxes  katergazetai  emin  :  a  glory,  ex- 
ceeding aioniotty  or  eternal,  to  an  excefs'  Here  is 
an  hyperbole  upon  an  hyperbole  ;  beyond  eter- 
nal ;  a  far  more  exceeding  eternal  weight  of  glo- 
ry- 
But  it  is  not  fo  much  by  the  different  words 
made  ufe  of  to  denote  the  permanency  of  the  feli- 
city of  the  righteous,  from  thofe  which  are  ufed 
to  exprefs  the  duration  of  the  mifery  of  the  wick- 
ed, that  I  judge  of  the  continuance  of  the  one  be- 
yond the  other  •,  fo  much  as  from  the  different 
fources  from  whence  they  flow,  and  of  their  dif- 
ferent natures. 

The  happinefs  of  thofe  who  are  ieconciled  to 
God,  arifes  from  their  union  to  Chrift ;  in  which 
if  they  continue  grounded  and  fettled  during  this 
prefent  life,  wherein  they  pafs  through  fo  many 
fore  trials,  the  union  will  become  fo  permanent, 
B  3  as 


30  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

as  that  it  will  be  impoffible  to  diflblve  it  •,  and  the 
very  nature  of  things  mews,  that  if  we  abide  firm 
to  the  end,  through  all  difficulties,  and  overcome 
all  thoie  things  that  would  leek  to  feparate  us 
from  Chriit,  when  we  come  into  that  ftate  where 
we  fhall  meet  with  no  more  temptations,  nor  any 
thing  that  hath  the  leaft  tendency  to  draw  our 
minds  from  God,  we  muff,  of  confequence,  re- 
main attached,  or  united,  to  him,  while  we  have 
an  existence.  This  doctrine  was  known  to  David  ; 
and,  therefore,  he  faid,  *  While  I  live,  will  I 
praife  Jehovah  ;  I  will  ling  praifes  unto  my  God, 
while  I  have  any  being/  Pfal.  cxlvi.  2.  civ.  33. 
It  may  be  proved,  that  the  union  fhall  continue 
between  Chriit  and  his  faithful  ones  after  this  life, 
and  mall  become  indiffolubie ;  and  that  neither 
'  tribulation,  nor  diflrefs,  nor  persecution,  nor  fa- 
mine, nor  nakednefs,  nor  peril,  nor  fword ;  neither 
death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor 
powers,  nor  things  prefent,  nor  things  to  come, 
nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature, 
mall  be  able  to  feparate  us  (who  abide  in  him) 
from  the  love  of  God  which  is  in  Chriit  Jefus 
our  Lord.'  See  Rom.  viii.  35 — 39.  See  alfo  St. 
John,  xv.  4,  5,  7,  9,  10.      1  John,  ii.  24 — 28. 

The  never-ending  continuance  of  the  life,  or 
ftate  of  well-being  of  the  righteous,  may  be  cer- 
tainly inferred,  with  the  greatcft  eafe,  from  the 
continuance  of  the  life  of  Chrift;  who  is  made  an 
high-prieff,  *  not  after  the  law  of  a  carnal  com- 
mandment, but  after  the  power  of  an  endiefs  life/ 
Heb.  vii.  16.  And  he  hath  exprefsly  declared, 
*  Becauie  I  live,  ye  fhall  live  alfo/  St.  John  xiv. 
19.  Thus,  as  long  as  the  caufe  remains,  the  ef- 
fect mud:  continue  ;  but   the   caufe,  even  the  life 

of 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  31 

of  Chrifr,  muft  undoubtedly  continue  to  endleis 
periods ;  therefore  alio,  the  effect,  or  the  life  of 
thofe  who  are  joined  to  him  in  an  indiffoluble  uni- 
on, mail  continue.  The  apoftle  Paul  understood 
logic  as  well  as  any  in  our  days  :  and  he  thus  rea- 
fons  upon  this  glorious  truth  ;  *  The  fpirit  itfelf 
beareth  witnels  with  our  fpirits,  that  we  (who  arc 
led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  have  received  the 
fpirit  of  adoption,  whereby  we  cry,  Abba,  Father) 
*  are  the  children  of  God  :  And  if  children,  then 
heirs  ;  heirs  of  God,  and  joint-heirs  with  Chrift. : 
if  fo  be  that  we  iuffer  with  him,  that  we  may  be 
alio  glorified  together,'  Rom.  viii.  16,  17. 

Now,  as  Chrift,  the  principal  heir,  cannot  be 
difinherited  ;  fo,  neither  can  thofe  who  are  joint 
heirs  with  him.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  given  us  as 
the  earneft  of  our  inheritance,  and  to  leal  us  to  the 
day  of  redemption,  2  Cor.  v.  5.  Ephef.  i.  13,  14. 
and  iv.  30.  Chrift  is  the  head,  and  the  overcom- 
es through  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  are  the  members 
of  his  body,  and  mall  inherit  all  things ;  he  will 
be  their  God,  and  they  mall  be  his  children  :  he  is 
their  life,  and  he  '  will  make  them  pillars  in  the 
temple  of  God,  and  they  mall  go  no  more  out/ 
Rev.  III.  12.  St.  Paul  fays,  *  When  Chrifl,  who 
is  our  life,  fhall  appear,  then  mall  ye  alio  appear 
with  him  in  glory,'  Col.  iii.  4.  And  St.  John  fays, 
'  Behold  what  manner  of  love  the  Father  hath  be- 
lle -wed  upon  us,  that  we  fhould  be  called  the  fons 
of  God :  therefore  the  world  knoweth  us  not, 
becaufe  it  knew  him  not.  Beloved,  now  are  we 
the  fons  of  God,  and  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what 
we  (hall  be  :  but  we  know,  that  when  he  fhall  ap- 
peap,  we  fhall  be  like  him  ;  for  we  mall  fee  him  as 
he  is,'  1  John  iii.  1,  2.  Thus,  we  are  fure,  from 
B  4  the 


32  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

the  Scriptures,  and  from  the  nature  of  things, 
that  thofe  who  are  drawn  by  the  Father,  united  to 
the  Son,  fealed  by  the  Holy  Ghoft,  willingly  choofe 
the  Lord  for  their  portion,  and  conftantly  adhere 
to  him  to  the  end,  mail  never  be  feparated  from 
him  in  the  future  ages  ;  for  he  himfelf  faith,  *  As 
the  living  Father  hath  fent  me,  and  I  live  by  the 
Father ;  fo  he  that  eateth  me,  even  he  mall  live  by 
me/  St.  John,  vi.  57.  And  as  Chrifl  is  the  great 
attracting  loadftone,  that  fhall  finally  draw  all 
things  to  him ;  it  is  evident,  that  he  will  preferve 
for  ever,  thofe  whom  he  hath  thoroughly  drawn 
to  himfelf,  and  who  have  adhered  to  him  through 
the  time  of  trial.  Thus  is  the  life  eternal  of  the 
righteous,  or  their  endlefs  ftate  of  well-being,  cx- 
preffed  in  much  frronger  language  than  the  miiery 
of  the  wicked  j  and,  moreover,  has  its  foundation 
in  the  union  between  Chrifl  and  his  church,  and 
in  the  nature  of  things. 

Friend.  But  if  the  Spirit  of  God  dwelling  in  us, 
and  thereby  caufing  us  to  adhere  to  Chrift,  and  to 
follow  him  through  all  trials,  makes  our  union  to 
him  fo  perfect,  that  nothing  fhall  be  able  to  fepa- 
rate  us  from  him  to  all  eternity ;  fince  we  are  con- 
firmed in  habits  of  goodnefs  by  free  choice,  and  by 
oft  repeated  exercifes  ;  why,  by  the  fame  rule, 
mail  not  the  mifery  of  the  wicked  be  etidlefs,  fee- 
ing that  they  have  chofen  and  adhered  to  evil 
through  life,  and  by  conftant  practice  are  con- 
firmed therein  ?  Evil  is  grown  up  to  a  body  in 
them  •,  and  it  appears  to  me  as  difficult  to  reform 
and  bring  them  off  from  their  vicious  habits,  as 
it  would  be  to  draw  the  faints  in  light  from  their 
adherence  to  virtue  and  goodnefs. 

Minjfter. 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  33 

Minijier.  Your  reafoning  would  be  conclusive, 
upon  the  fuppofition  that  there  are  two  eternal  prin- 
ciples^ viz.  good  and  evil  \  if  it  can  be  proved,  that 
evil  is  coexiitent  with  goodnefs,  that  it  hath  always 
been  :  then,  the  abfolute  eternity  of  fin  and  raifery 
may  be  eafily  inferred.  This  is  the  true  founda- 
tion of  endlefs  mifery>  and  it  came  from  the  Pagan 
theology  :  The  Heathens  believed  in  two  eternal 
principles^  ever  warring  againit  each  other,  and  nei- 
ther fully  prevailing  ;  that  men  had  the  liberty  of 
enlifting  under  which  they  pleafed  •,  and  that  thole 
who  in  life  chofe  virtue,  mould  enjoy  endlefs  feli- 
city ;  while  thofe  who  chofe,  and  adhered  to  vice, 
Should  eternally  remain  under  its  dominion,  and  of 
confequence  be  always  miferable.  Thus,  the  in- 
fernal deities  being  judged  by  the  poor  Pagans  to 
be  as  eternal  as  the  good  gods,  and  more  power- 
ful ;  they  facrificed  more  to  the  evil  principle  than 
to  the  good,  out  of  fear,  and  to  appeafethe  anger 
of  thofe  abhorred,  malevolent  agents  \  hence,  the 
frequency  of  human  facrifices. 

Now,  when  the  Chriftian  religion  triumphed 
over  Paganifm  in  the  Roman  empire,  many  of  the 
philofophers  embraced  and  profeiTed  it,  but  withal, 
retained  many  of  their  Pagan  notions  ;  among 
which  was  the  eternity  of  theie  two  oppofite  princi- 
ples :  hence  arofe  the  ancient  feci:  of  the  Manichees, 
who  believed  not  only  the  eternal  exigence  of  two 
contrary  eternal  Gods,  one  good  and  the  other  evil; 
but  alfo,  that  all  vifible  things  were  created  by  the 
devil ;  and  upon  this  principle,  they  might  argue 
the  univerlality  of  damnation,  with  as  much  eafe 
and  certainty,  as  we,  upon  the  contrary,  may  argue 
the  certainty  of  the  universal  Restoration,  accord- 
ing to  that  glorious  promiie  of  God,  Uaiah,  lvii.  i6, 
B5  '7, 


34  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

17,  1 8,  19,  (  For  I  will  not  contend  for  ever,  nei- 
ther will  I  always  be  wroth  :  for  the  Spirit  fhould 
fail  before  me,  and  the  fouls  which  I  have  made. 
For  the  iniquity  of  his  covetoufnefs  was  I  wroth, 
and  fmote  him  :  I  hid  me,  and  was  wroth ;  and 
he  went  on  frowardly,  in  the  way  of  his  heart. 
I  have  feen  his  ways,  and  will  heal  him :  I  "will 
lead  him  alfo,  and  reltore  comforts  unto  him, 
and  to  his  mourners.  I  create  the  fruit  of  the 
lips  *,  Peace,  peace,  to  him  that  is  far  off,  and  to 
him  that  is  near,  faith  Jehovah  -,  and  I  will  heal 
him.' 

Thofe  who  venture  to  contradict  their  Maker, 
and  fay,  that  he  ivill  cotitend  for  ever,  and  be  always 
wroth ;  ought  to  give  as  good  a  reafon,  at  leaft, 
why  he  w$t9  as  he  hath  given  why  he  will  not ; 
and,  coniequently,  mufl  prove  him  not  to  be  the 
Father  of  all  (pints,  and  the  Creator  of  all  fouls  : 
If,  therefore,  it  can  be  demonftrated,  that  Satan 
is  an  eternal,  felf-exiffent,  immutable,  evil  being, 
and  that  he  hath  created  all,  or  apart  of  mankind, 
(as  feme  afferted  formerly,  and  as  I  myfelf  have 
heard  lately)  or  that  he  hath  drawn  fome  of  God's 
creatures  into  fuch  an  union  with  himfelf,  that 
they  cannot  be  feparated  from  him ;  and  that  he 
will  maintain  his  crown,  throne,  and  kingdom,  in 
oppofition  to  God,  to  all  endlefs  duration ;  then, 
and  not  till  then,  may  the  eternity  of  fin  andmifery 
be  concluded,  from  the  nature  of  things,  with 
tqual  eafe  and  certainty,  as  the  perfection  and 
happinefs  of  the  faints. 

But,  if  the  kingdom  of  evil,  and  all  the  works 
of  fin,  Satan,  and  darknels,  fhall  be  totally  de- 
itroyed  by  Chrift,  and  all  things  mall  be  rehead- 
cd  ifi  him,    who   is   the  head  of  all  principality 

and 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  3£ 

and  power,  as  well  as  of  every  man  :  See  Ephe- 
fians,  i.  jc.  Co),  ii.  ic.  i  Cor.  xi.  3.  If  every 
knee  fhall  bow,  and  tongue  (hall  iwear,  and  all 
things,  whether  in  heaven  or  in  earth,  or  under 
the  earth,  fhall  confefs  that  he  is  Lord  ;  and  all 
things,  whether  in  heaven  or  in  earth,  fhall  be 
reconciled  to  him  :  See  Ilaiah,  xlv.  23.  Phil.  ii. 
10.  Col.  i.  20.  And  all  kingdoms  (not  excepting 
that  of  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air)  fhall  be 
broken  and  deftroyed  by  the  kingdom  of  Chrift, 
which  fhall  itfelf  be  yielded  up  into  the  kingdom 
of  boundlefs  love,  where  judgment  (haH  be  no  more: 
What  fhall  we  fay  of  that  doctrine,  that  teaches 
us  the  endlefs  duration  of  evil  ?  So  far  is  the  endlej's 
fin  and  milery  of  the  wicked  from  being  inferred 
from  the  endlefs  holinefs  and  felicity  of  the  righte- 
ous, in  the  kingdom  of  the  Father,  that  every  proof 
and  demonftration  of  the  latter,  concludes  equally 
again  ft  the  former. 

One  of  the  firft  arguments  that  ever  began  to 
take  hold  of  my  mind,  and  to  bring  me  to  think 
leriouily  of  the  fyftem  of  the  Reftoration,  was, 
what  I  read  in  a  little  book  upon  the  fubject  call- 
ed, The  Everlafing  Gojpel,  Sec.  and  is  there  thus 
expreffed. 

1  it  is  as  impoffible  that  there  mould  be  two  end- 
lefs contrary  things,  as  that  there  mould  be  two 
real  contrary  deities,  a  good  God  and  a  bad  one, 
or  two  forts  of  contrary  creatures,  both  of  truly 
divine  original,  fome  being  -made  good  by  God, 
and  others  bad.  For  an  abfolute  and  merely  infi- 
nite duration,  which  has  neit.i  1  beginning  nor 
end,  is  according  to  the  confeflion  &f  all  divines, 
yea  or  every  reasonable  man,  a  property  peculiar 
to  the  uncreated  Being  only.  But  fuch  an  infi- 
nite 


3^  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

nite  duration,  which,  although  it  has  a  beginning, 
yet  fhall  have  no  end,  can  only  be  the  property  of 
thofe  creatures,  that  are  of  divine  original.  For  as 
thefe,  according  to  the  language  of  the  fcripture, 
are  of  divine  origin,  and  therefore  are  rooted  in  God, 
or  in  his  almighty  creating  power,  which  has  no 
beginning,  they  can  alfo  be  everlafling,  their  ex- 
igence or  duration  can  alfo  be  without  end  in  God. 
But  whatfoever  has  not  its  eternal  root  in  God, 
or  in  his  eternal  creating  power,  but  is  fprung  up 
in  the  creature  in  this  world,  by  its  voluntary 
turning  away  from  God,  and  againft.  his  holy 
will,  and  confequently  is  an  abomination  and  di£- 
pleafure  to  the  Molt  High,  and  is  only  fufFered  by 
him,  fuch  as  fin,  and  the  punifhment  depending 
thereon,  thefe  things  cannot  poffibly  be  of  an  ab- 
solute endleis  exigence  and  duration,  or  remain  fo 
long  as  God  mail  exift  ;  but  muft  of  neceflity 
once  ceafe  and  be  annihilated.  For  as  God  is  a  Be- 
ing to  thofe  creatures  which  he  created  good,  and 
which  exift  through  his  will,  wherein  they  may 
fubfift  and  be  preferved  without  end ;  fo  he  is  on 
the  contrary,  to  iniquity  and  fin,  (which  againft. 
his  will,  is  fprung  up  in  and  flicks  to  the  crea- 
tures) a  consuming  fire,  whereby  all  fin  and  per- 
verfenefs  in  the  creatures  muft  be  at  laft  confumed, 
annihilated,  and  feparated  from  them  in  the  highefl 
degree,  in  order  to  reftore  them  to  their  primitive 
purity  ;  in  the  fame  manner  as  the  fire  does  not 
confume  and  deftroy  the  gold,  but  only  the  drofs, 
and  that  which  is  impure.' 

We  will  now  ftate  fome  of  the  arguments  in  fa- 
Tour  of  the  cndltfs  continuance  of  the  happinefs  of 
the  faints,  in  the  kingdom  of  their  Father  ;  and 

thofe 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  37 

thofe  which  prove  that  the  ftate  of  mifery  fhall 
come  to  an  end 

Chrifthath  promifed,  that  the  happinefs  of  the 
faints  mall  have  no  end  ;  becaufe  his  life  mail  have 
no  end,  and  he  is  their  life. 

The  mifery  of  the  wicked  mail  end,  becaufe  the 
kingdom  of  evil  mail  end. 

The  power  of  God  ftands  engaged  to  preferve 
and  keep  thofe  who  commit  themfelves  to  him  ; 
and  thus  their  union  with  him  mall  always  con- 
tinue. 

The  fame  is  engaged  to  deitroy  that  covenant 
with  death,  and  that  agreement  with  hell,  where- 
by finners  are  held  in  fubjection  to  Satan,  and  thus 
to  take  the  prey  from  the  mighty,  and  the  captives 
from  the  terrible. 

The  fubjects  of  Chrift  are  his  natural  fubjec"ts  ; 
he  is  their  rightful  fovereign  :  but  Satan's  fubjects 
are  flaves,  led  captive  by  him  at  his  will  ;  he  is  an 
ufurper,  and  ail  that  are  in  bondage  to  him  belong 
to  Chrift,  who  will  finally  draw  them  all  to  him- 
felf. 

Thofe  that  are  in  blifs  mall  be  eternally  attract- 
ed by  him,  and  mall  always  choofe  that  which  is 
good  \  but  when  evil  is  broken,  its  influence  mail 
no  more  prevail  over  thofe  that  are  captivated 
by  it;  and  they  mail  feel  the  confequences  of 
fin  in  fuch  a  manner  as  to  loathe  it ;  and  they  mall 
heartily  return,  and  fwear  allegiance  to  their  right- 
ful King. 

There  mail  be  no  influence  to  draw  the  faints  in 
blifs  from  Chrift,  and  thereby  diffolve  his  king- 
dom ;  but  all  the  influence  of  God  and  goodnefs, 
fliall  tend  to  diffolve  the  kingdom  of  darknefs,  and 

to 


38  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

to  put  an  end  to  the  thraldom  and  mifery  of  its  un- 
happy flaves. 

Thus,  I  might  go  on  with  a  long  train  of  argu- 
ments upon  this  fubject  •,  but  thefe  may  fuffice. 

Friend.  Your  arguments  would  feem  very 
conclusive,  for  the  entire  fubjecYion  of  all 
things,  if  you  could  prove  that  the  word  all, 
intends  literally  and  mathematically,  the  whole  y 
without  exception  :  but  this,  I  doubt,  will  be  dif- 
ficult for  you  to  do,  as  you  muft  know,  that  it  is 
very  frequently  ufed  in  common  language  for 
a  part,  and  fometimes  for  only  a  final  I  part  of  man- 
kind. 

Minijler.  I  acknowledge,  this  is  the  cafe  in 
common  converfation,  and  in  fuch  parts  of  the  fa- 
cred  hiftory  where  we  are  in  no  danger  of  being 
milled  by  it,  being  well  informed  by  the  context, 
or  fome  other  paffages,  or  from  the  nature,  or  from 
the  circumftances  of  the  facts,  that  we  muft  take 
it  in  a  limited  fenfe ;  but  I  do  not  recollect  any 
paflage,  where  any  point  of  doblrinc  is  fpoken  of,  in 
which  the  word  all  is  ufed  in  that  uncertain  and 
undeterminate  manner :  and  it  is  neceflary  that  it 
mould  not  be  ufed  in  that  way,  in  matters  of  im- 
portance ;  becaufe  we  might  be  led  into  confufion 
and  great  uncertainty  thereby  •,  not  knowing 
whether  to  underftand  it  nniverfally ,  or  partially. 
Wherefore,  I  lay  down  this  plain  rule  ;  viz.  When 
the  word  all  is  ufed  in  any  pafTage  of  Scripture, 
and  we  are  not  necefTarily  obliged,  either  by  the 
context  or  fome  other  text,  or  the  nature  and  cir- 
cumftances of  the  cafe,  to  underftand  it  partially  ; 
and  efpecially,  where  any  important  point  of  doc- 
trine is  fpoken  of  we  are  always  to  underftand  it 
u?iiverfallyy  without  exception. 

Friend. 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  39 

Friend.  But  can  you  prove  from  the  writings  of 
the  apoftles,  that  they  ufed  the  word  ALL  in  this 
large  and  univerfal  fenfe  ? 

Minijler.  Yes,  my  friend,  very  eafily,  and  in  the 
moft  unexceptionable  manner.  Hear  what  the  au- 
thor of  the  EpifUe  to  the  Hebrews  fays  upon  this 
matter :  *  Thou  haft  put  all  things  in  fubjec*Hon 
under  his  feet :  for  in  that  he  put  all  in  fubjecYion 
under  him  ;  he  left  nothing  that  is  not  put  under  him/ 
Heb.  ii.  8. 

It  is  evident,  that  the  apoftlc's  reafoning  would 
be  very  inaccurate,  if  not  entirely  falfe,  upon  the 
fuppofition  that  all  things  did  not  intend  all,  in 
the  largeft  fenfe :  for  how  would  this  conclufion 
naturally  and  necefTarily  follow,  (  For  in  that  he 
put  all  in  fubjection  under  him,  he  left  nothing  not 
put  under  him  ;'  unlefs  it  be  premifed,  that  all  is 
ufed  in  the  univerfal  fenfe  of  the  word  ? 

Friend.  But  hath  not  the  fame  apoftle  made  an 
exception,  when  he  ufes  the  word  all,  in  fome 
other  of  his  writings  ? 

Min'ifler.  Yes,  truly  ;  but  it  is  fuch  an  excep- 
tion as  juftifies  this  fenfe  of  the  word,  more  than 
a  thoufand  arguments  :  *  For  he  hath  put  all 
things  under  his  feet ;  but  when  he  faith,  all 
things  are  put  under  him,  it  is  manifeft,  that  he  is 
excepted  which  did  put  ALL  things  under  him.9 
1  Cor.  xv.  27.  Here  God  the  Father  being  alone 
excepted,  proves  all  other  beings  to  be  included  in 
the  words  all  things  ;  and  that  in  fo  convincing  a 
manner,  that  I  am  aftonifhed  that  I  did  not  perceive 
it  long  before  I  did. 

Friend.  It  is  true,  that  nothing  can  be  plainer, 
than  that  all  things,  in  thefe  places,  mull:  mean 
all  beings,  except  God  -,  but  then,  perhaps,  St. 

Paul 


40  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

Paul  only  meant,  that  they  mould  be  fubjecl:  to  his 
controul,  and  not  brought  willingly  to  obey  :  If  you 
can  prove  this  point  as  clearly  as  you  have  the 
other,  and  from  the  fame  authority,  it  will  feem  to 
-put  the  matter  with  me  beyond  difpute. 

Minijler.  This  is  very  eafily  done  ;  for  it  is  uni- 
verfally  acknowledged  by  all  Chriftians,  that  all 
things  are  now,  and  have  ever  been  fubjecl:  to  his 
controul  \  for  when  he  was  upon  earth,  in  his  low- 
ell:  ftate  of  humiliation,  even  the  unclean  fpirits, 
the  moft  rebellious  of  beings,  obeyed  his  word  ; 
which  made  thofe  who  faw  his  miracles  cry,  with 
amazement,  (  What  thing  is  this  ?  what  new  doc- 
trine is  this  ?  for  with  authority  commandeth  he 
even  the  unclean  fpirits,  and  they  obey  him/  St. 
Mark,  i.  27.  The  devils  obeyed  him  univerfally, 
in  whatever  he  commanded  them  ;  and  could  not 
enter  into  the  fwine  without  his  permiflio  ;  and 
how  difagreeable  foever  his  words  were  to  them, 
they  vj ere  forced  to  comply,  without  daring  to 
complain;  yea,  they  frequently  feemed  like  hum- 
ble fuppliants  *,  and  once  we  read,  they  went  fo 
far  as  to  adjure  our  blefled  Lord  not  to  torment 
them  :  See  St.  Mark,  v.  7.  The  winds,  waves, 
fifhes,  all  obey  him  *,  all  difeafes,  and  even  death 
itfelf,  heard  his  voice,  and  departed  at  his  bidding ; 
and  to  his  difciples  he  faid,  All  power  is  given 
unto  me,  in  heaven  and  in  earth,'  Matth.  xxviii. 
18.  and  certainly  now,  he  is  at  '  the  right  hand 
of  God,  angels,  and  authorities,  and  powers,  are 
made  fubjecl  unto  him,'  1  Pet.  ill.  22.  God  hath 
exalted  him  far  above  all  principality,  and  power, 
and  might,  and  dominion,  and  every  name  that  is 
named  •,  not  only  in  this  agey  (for  fo  I  render  the 
word  aiQui)  but  alfo  in  that  which  is  to  come ;  and 

put 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  j(l 

put  all  things  under  his  feet,  and  gave  him  to  be 
the  head  over  all  things  to  the  church,"  Ephef.  i. 
21,  22.  But,  as  though  the  apoftle  had  known 
that  the  fenfe  would  be  difputed,  he  hath  faid, 
'  But  now  we  fee  not  yet  all  things  put  under  him, 
Heb.  ii.  8.  All  things  were  fubjecl:  to  his  controul, 
even  on  earth  ;  and  they  cannot  be  lefs  fo,  now  he. 
is  exalted  to  heaven,  to  the  glory  which  he  had 
with  the  Father  before  the  world  was ;  and  yet, 
many  years  after  his  afcenfion,  the  apoftle  fays, 
( But  now  we  fee  not  yet  all  things  put  under  him  j' 
by  which  he  mult  certainly  mean  their  being  w/V- 
lingly  fubjecl  unto  him ;  for,  in  all  other  fenfes, 
all  things  are  now  put  under  him,  in  the  moft  un- 
limited manner,  as  we  have  feen  already.  But  the 
apoftle  goes  on  to  tell  how  far  the  important  work 
is  accomplifhed,  and  that  a  fure  foundation  is  laid 
for  its  entire  completion  ;  faying,  «  But  we  fee  Je- 
fus,  who  was  made  a  little  lower  than  the  angels, 
for  thefufferingof  death,  crowned  with  glory  and 
honour,  that  he,  by  the  grace  of  God,  mould  taftc 
death  for  all  ;'  (for  fo  the  word  pantos  ought  to 
be  rendered.)  There  was  anciently  a  manufcript 
in  ufe,  in  which  the  words  were  choris  Theou  in- 
ftead  of  chariti  Theou,  that  is,  for  all,  except 
God.  And  there  is  little  doubt  of  its  being  the 
true  fenfe  \  becaufe  St.  Paul  makes  the  fame 
exception,  with  refpecl  to  thofe  who  are  put 
under  Chrift,  as  we  have  before  noted,  i  Cor. 
xv.  27. 

Then  the  apoftle  adds,  *  For  it  became  him,  for 
whom  are  all  things,  and  by  whom  are  all  things^ 
in  bringing  many  fons  unto  glory,  to  make  the 
Cnptain  of  their  falvation  perfect  through  fuffer- 
ings,'  Heb.  ii.  9,  10. 

Inftead 


4(2  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

Inftead  of  the  word  all  intending  only  a  part,  we 
find,  in  feveral  places,  that  the  word  many  intends 
ally  as  in  Rom.  v.  15,  1 6,  19.  '  For  if  through 
the  offence  of  one,  many  be  dead  ;  much  more  the 
grace  of  God,  and  the  gift  by  grace,  which  is  by- 
one  man,  Jefus  Chrifr,  hath  abounded  unto  many. 
The  free  gift  is  of  many  offences  unto  juftification. 
For,  as  by  one  man's  difobedience  many  were  made 
finners ;  fo,  by  the  obedience  of  one,  fhall  many 
be  made  righteous.'  Ifaiah  liii.  11,  12.  c  By  his 
knowledge  fhall  my  righteous  ferrant  juftify  many 
(or  the  many)  for  he  mail  bear  their  iniquities. 
And  he  bare  the  fins  of  many,  and  made  inter- 
ceflion  for  the  tranfgrefTors.'  Theie  many  are  call- 
ed all,  in  the  6th  verfe :  All  we,  like  fheep  have 
gone  affray  ;  we  have  turned  every  one  to  his  own 
way  :  and  Jehovah  hath  laid  on  him  the  iniquity 
of  us  all* 

But,  to  return  to  our  fubject :  St.  Paul  allures 
us,  that  though  all  things,  without  exception,  are 
put  under  him,  in  one  fenfe ;  yet,  in  another,  he 
fays,  <  But  now  we  fee  not  yet  all  things  put  under 
him/  But  he  leaves  us  not  in  the  dark  about  the 
matter  •,  but  fpeaks  of  that  effectual  *  working, 
whereby  he  is  able  even  to  fubdue  all  things  unto 
himfelf,'  Phil.  iii.  21.  And  when  all  things  fhall 
be  fubdued  unto  himfelf,  then  fhall  the  Son  alio 
himfelf  be  fubjeft  unto  him  that  put  all  things  un- 
der him,  that  God  may  be  all  in  all,'  i  Cor.  xv. 
28.  Here  we  plainly  find,  a  very  neceflary  diftinc- 
tion  between  all  things  being  put  under  him  ;  and 
all  things  being  fubdued  unto  him,  the  former  is  al- 
ready done,  in  the  fulleft  manner ;  and  the  latter 
Jhall  be  as  perfectly  and  as  fully  accomplifhed,  in 
due  time  :  «Becaufe  the  creation  itfclf  fhall  be  de- 
livered 


UNIVERSAX    RESTORATION.  43 

livered  from  the  bondage  of  corruption,  into  the 
glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of  God.  For  we 
know,  that  the  whole  creation  groaneth  and  tra- 
vaileth  in  pain  together,  until  now/  Rom.  viii.  21, 
22. 

Though  what  hath  already  been  fpoken,  may 
feem  more  than  enough  to  prove  the  point  refpect- 
ing  the  word  all ;  yet  there  is  one  palTage  more, 
full  to  the  purpoie,  that  I  would  not  omit ;  it  be- 
ing, of  itfelf,  fully  fufficient  to  fettle  the  difpute 
for  ever  : — The  apcftle,  fpeaking  of  Chrift,  faith, 
*  Who  is  the  image  of  the  invifible  God,  thefirft- 
born  of  every  creature  :  for  by  him  were  all  things 
created  that  are  in  heaven,  and  that  are  in  earth, 
vifible  and  invifible,  whether  they  be  thrones,  of 
dominions,  or  principalities,  or  powers  ;  all  things 
were  created  by  him,  and  for  him  :  and  he  is  before 
all  things,  and  by  him  all  things  confift.  And  he 
is  the  head  of  the  body,  the  church  ;  who  is  the 
beginning,  the  firft-born  from  the  dead  :  that  in 
all  things  he  might  have  the  pre-eminence.  For  it 
pleafed  the  Father,  that  in  him  mould  all  fulnefs 
dwell ;  and  having  made  peace  through  the  blood 
of  his  crofs,  by  him,  to  reconcile  all  things  un- 
to himielf ;  by  him,  I  fay,  whether  they  be 
things  in  earth,  or  things  in  heaven,5  Col.  i. 
15 — 20. 

As  the  word  all  is  generally  acknowledged  to  be 
uied  in  its  mod  extenfive  fenfe,  in  every  place  in 
this  paragraph,  except  the  laft,  there  is  no  reafon 
to  be  given  why  the  apoftle  fhouid  change  the  fenfe 
of  the  word,  without  giving  us  the  leaif.  notice  of 
it  •,  and,  indeed,  it  would  be  very  unkind,  if  not 
unfair,  for  him  thus  to  do  •,    as   it   would  tend 

to 


44  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

to  miflead  ns,  in  a  matter  of  very  great  import- 
ance. 

Friend.  I  hope  that  I  am  not  fo  attached  to  my 
own  opinions  as  to  be  unwilling  to  hear  and  confi- 
der  what  may  be  advanced  againft  them  ;  but  the 
doctrine  of  endlefs  damnation  has  been  fo  generally 
confidered  as  a  molt  important  article  of  faith  by 
all  denominations,  that  I  can  by  no  means  think  of 
giving  it  up,  unlefs  you  are  able  to  eftablifh  the 
contrary  fyftem  upon  the  mod  folid  ground,  and 
anfwer  all  the  fcriptural  objections  fairly,  that 
have  been,  or  that  can  be  brought  againft  it ;  for 
I  muft  have  all  my  doubts  folved,  before  I  can  think 
of  believing  fuch  a  ftrange  doctrine  as  this  appears 
to  me. 

Minifter.  I  moft  heartily  commend  your  pru- 
dence and  fincerity  :  I  took  the  fame  refolution  ; 
and  would  never  receive  this  view,  till  I  could  an- 
fwer all  objections  to  my  own  fa tis faction  :  and  if 
you  are  difpofed  to  enquire  farther  at  another  op- 
portunity, I  mall  be  happy  in  giving  you  all  the 
aiTiflance  in  my  power. 


END    OF    THE    FIRST    DIALOGUE, 


DIALOGUE 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  4f 


DIALOGUE    II. 


Friend.  f^\  OOD  day  to  you,  fir,   I  was   juft 

\JT  paffing  by,  and  if  you  have  a  little 
time  to  fpare,  I  mould  be  happy  to  have  fome  far- 
ther difcourfe  with  you,  reflecting  your  fenti- 
ments  j  for  although  I  cannot  fall  in  with  your 
views,  yet  I  am  convinced,  that  your  mind  is  up- 
right in  the  matter,  and  that  you  do  not  difagree 
with  your  brethren  for  the  fake  of  differing,  but 
for  what  you  believe  to  be  truth. 

Minifter.  I  have  this  to  fay,  (and  I  can  with 
truth  declare  it)  that  I  never  mould  have  difTented 
from  my  brethren,  had  they  only  given  me  the  li- 
berty of  enjoying  that  natural  right  of  freely 
thinking  for  myfelf  in  matters  of  religion.  I  fin- 
cerely  wifh  to  live  and  die  in  unity  with  all  that 
love  God  and  keep  his  commandments ;  and  I 
fhould  never  have  troubled  the  world  with  my  fen- 
timents,  had  not  great  pains  been  taken  to  repre- 
fent  me  as  a  heretic,  and  my  fentiments  dangerous 
to  mankind  :  This  was  done  to  prevent  people 
from  hearing  what  I  had  to  fay  in  other  matters. 
I  was  therefore,  in  a  fort,  compelled  to  fit  down 
and  anfwer  all  the  objections  that  were  brought 
againft  the  truth  I  believed  ;  which  anfwers,  drawn 
(as  I  trufh  fairly  from -the  Scriptures,  have  fatis- 

fied 


46  DIALOGUES    OiM    TUE 

fied  many  who  have  read  what  I  then  wrote  upon 
the  fubject. 

Friend.  I  never  faw  your  anfwers  to  objections 
in  print  :  but  in  our  laft  conversion,  you  gave 
fuch  anfwers  to  many  quefrions,  as  feemed  to  con- 
vince me  that  much  more  might  be  faid  in  favour  of 
the  general  Reftoration  than  I  formerly  imagined  : 
But  I  have  a  number  of  objections  remaining, 
which  appear  to  me  unanfwerable ;  and  which  I 
beg  leave  to  ftate  you  in  the  plaineit  manner. 

Minijler.  Do,  my  dear  friend  ;  you  will  give  me 
pleafure  by  being  free  and  open  upon  this  fubject ; 
propofe  all  your  objections,  in  the  ftrongeft  man- 
ner poffible,  and  I  will'  give  you  fuch  anfwers  as 
have  fatisfied  me  in  the  matter  ;  and  I  beg  leave  to 
afTure  you,  that  no  light,  trifling,  or  forced  anfwer, 
far  lefs  a  manifeft  evafion,  would  fatisfy  my  mind 
upon  this  awful  and  interefting  fubject  ;  and  if 
what  I  believe  is  not  capable  of  a  fcriptural  defence, 
I  fhall  endeavour  to  quit  the  ground  as  fpeedily  as 
poilible. 

Friend.  The  words  of  our  Saviour,  recorded  by 
St.  Mark,  chap.  ix.  43 — 40,  form  a  very  ferious, 
and  to  me  an  unanfwerable  objection  againft  the 
univerfal  Reitoration. 

c  And  if  thy  hand  offend  thee  {or  caufe  thee  to 
offend)  cut  it  off:  it  is  better  for  thee  to  enter  in- 
to life  maimed,  than  having  two  hands,  to  go  into 
hell  •,  into  the  fire  that  never  (hall  be  quenched 
{or  that  is  unquenchable) :  where  their  worm  di- 
eth  not,  and  the  fire  is  not  quenched.  And  if  thy 
foot  offend  thee,  (or  caufe  thee  to  offend)  cut  it 
off:  it  is  better  for  thee  to  enter  halt  into  life,  than 
having  two  feet,  to  be  caft  into  hell,  into  the  fire 
that  never  fhall  be  quenched  (or  that  is  unquench- 
able) : 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  47 

able)  :  where  their  worm  dieth  not,  and  the  fire 
is  not  quenched.  And  if  thine  eye  offend  thee, 
(or  caufe  thee  to  oflend)  pluck  it  out  :  it  is  better 
for  thee  to  enter  into  kingdom  of  God  with  one 
eye,  than  having  two  eyes  to  be  caft  into  hell  fire : 
where  their  worm  dieth  not,  and  the  fire  is 
not  quenched.  For  every  one  fhall  be  falted 
with  fire,  and  every  facrifice  fhall  be  falted  with 
fait/ 

Here  our  Lord  repeats  five  times,  that  c  the  fire 
is  not,  or  never  (hall  be  quenched,  or  is  unquench- 
able ;'  words  of  nearly  fimilar  meaning  :  Three 
times  he  fpeaks  of  hell,  as  a  place  where  c  their 
worm  dieth  not :'  and,  to  mew  the  perpetuity  of 
the  fufterings  of  the  miferable,  he  fays,  *  For  eve- 
ry one  mall  be  falted  with  fire-/  i.  e.  preferved  by 
the  fire,  as  fait  preferves  meat.  Thefe  are  the  ob- 
jections from  this  paiTage,  briefly  ftated  :  Are  you 
able  to  anfvver  them  fairly,  without  any  evafion, 
from  the  authority  of  Scripture  ? 

Minijier.  This  is  certainly  a  mod  terrible  paf- 
hgey  and  deferves  to  be  considered  particularly. 

There  is  no  doubt  but  Jefus  Chrift  had  his  eye 
upon  that  pafiage  in  Ifaiah,  lxvi.  24. — *  And  they 
fhall  go  forth,  and  look  upon  the  carcafes  of  the 
men  that  have  tranfgrelTed  againft  me  :  for  their 
worm  mall  not  die,  neither  fhall  their  fire  be 
quenched  ;  and  they  fhall  be  an  abhorring  unto 
all  fleih.' 

It  will  be  of  ufe  to  us  to  underftand  when  this 
prophecy  fhall  be  fulfilled  :  It  fhall  be  when  the 
Children  of  Ifrael  fhall  return,  and  be  fettled  in 
their  own  land  •,  and  their  enemies  fhall  come 
againfr.  them,  and  fhall  be  deftroyed,  and  their 
ca  rcafes  fhall  fall  upon  the  mountains  of  Ifrael, 
1  and 


43  DIALOGUES   ON    THE 

and  fhall  be  a  prey  to  the  fowls  of  heaven,  and 
their  flefh  fhall  be  devoured  by  worms,  which  fhall 
not  die,  till  they  have  eaten  and  entirely  deftroyed 
their  bodies. 

*  Thou  malt  fall  upon  the  mountains  of  Ifrael, 
thou  and  all  thy  bands,  and  the  people  that  is  with 
thee  ;  I  will  give  thee  to  the  ravenous  birds  of  eve- 
ry fort,  and  to  the  beafts  of  the  field,  to  be  de- 
voured. Thou  fhalt  fall  upon  the  open  field  :  for 
I  have  fpoken  it,  faith  Adonai  Jehovah.  And  it 
fhall  come  to  pafs  in  that  day,  that  I  will  give  unto 
Gog  a  place  there  of  graves  in  Ifrael,  the  valley  of 
the  paffengers  on  the  eaft  of  the  fea :  and  it  fhall 
flop  the  nofes  of  the  paffengers  ;  and  there  fhall 
they  bury  Gog,  and  all  his  multitude :  and  they 
fhall  call  it,  The  Valley  of  Hammon-Gog.  And 
feven  months  fhall  the  Houfe  of  Ifrael  be  burying 
of  them,  that  they  may  cleanfe  the  land.'  (See 
Ezek.  xxxix.  4,  5,  11,  12.)  'And  it  fhall  come 
to  pafs,  that  every  one  that  is  left  of  all  the  nations 
which  came  againft  Jerufalem,  fhall  even  go  up, 
from  year  to  year,  to  worfhip  the  King,  Jehovah, 
of  Hofts,  and  to  keep  the  feaft  of  tabernacles/ 
Zech.  xiv.  16.  '  And  it  fhall  come  to  pafs,  that 
from  one  new  moon  to  another,  and  from  one  fab- 
bath  to  another,  fhall  all  fiefh  come  to  worfhip  be- 
fore me,  faith  Jehovah/  Ifaiah,  lxvi.  21.*  And 
they  that  fhall  come  up  to  Jerufalem,  to  worfhip 
the  Lord,  during  the  time  that  thefe  bodies  fhall 
lie  in  the  open  field,  fhall  go  forth,  and  behold 
them  in  a  ftate  of  putrefaction,  a  prey  to  worms  ; 
and  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  fhall  fee  God's 
judgments  executed  upon  thofe  who  dare  to  rebel 
againft  him,  by  making  war  againft  the  Lamb,  and 
againft  his  army.     Rev.  xvii.  14.  xix.  19. 

It 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  49 

It  is  alfo  intimated  by  Ezekiel,  that  a  fire  mail 
be  kindled,  to  burn  their  weapons  of  war,  &c. 
which  mail  lafl  for  fome  time.  Hear  his  words  : 
c  And  they  that  dwell  in  the  cities  of  Ifrael  mall 
go  forth,  and  mail  fet  on  fire  and  burn  the  weapons, 
both  the  fhields  and  the  bucklers,  the  bows  and 
the  arrows,  and  the  hand-ftaves  and  the  fpears  -, 
and  they  mall  burn  them  with  fire  {even  years  : 
fo  that  they  mall  take  no  wood  out  of  the  field, 
neither  cut  down  any  out  of  the  forefts  ;  for  they 
mall  burn  the  weapons  with  fire.'  See  Ezek. 
xxxix.  9,  10. 

Thus  have  I  endeavoured  to  give  the  plain  fenfe 
of  the  text  to  which  our  Lord  alluded  •,  and  I  have 
not  the  fmalleft  doubt  of  its  being  hereafter  literally 
fulfilled. 

I  will  now  endeavour  to  give  what  appears  to 
me  the  meaning  of  the  text  before  us  : — Chrilt 
threatened  that  thofe  who  would  not  deny  them- 
felves,  and  cut  off  thofe  things  that  led  them  into 
fin,  mould  hereafter  furTer  infinitely  greater  incon- 
veniencies,  by  being  call:  into  hell  fire.  And,  Oh  ! 
who  can  conceive  how  dreadful  a  portion  is  threat- 
ened to  fome  tranfgrefibrs  !  that  they  t  fhall  drink 
of  the  wine  of  the  wrath  of  God,  which  is  poured 
out  without  mixture,  into  the  cup  of  his  indigna- 
tion ;  and  mail  be  tormented  with  fire  and  brim- 
ftone,  in  the  prefence  of  the  holy  angels,  and 
in  the  prefence  of  the  Lamb  :  And  the  fmoke 
of  their  torment  afcendeth  up  ages  of  ages  ; 
and  they  have  no  reft,  day  nor  night.'  Rev. 
xiv.  10,  11. 

Thus,  as  the  enemies  of  God,  who  mail  be  de- 

ftroyed  near  Jernfalem,  fhall  have  their  carcafes 

cxpofed,  full  of  worms,  and  be  an  abhorring  unto 

C  all 


5^  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

all  that  behold  them ;  fo  thofc  who  are  caft  into 
the  burning  lake,  fliall  be  publicly  expofed  to 
fhame,  and  fliall  fufFer  openly  for  their  crimes-, 
and  the  fmoke  of  their  torment  (hall  afcend  up 
continually,  during  thofe  ages  that  the  lake  of  fire, 
or  thefecond  death,  fliall  continue. 

But  when  I  confiderthat  this  terraqueous  globe 
itfelf  is  probably  to  become  the  lake  of  fire,  when 
the  elements  fliall  melt  with  fervent  heat ;  and  yet 
after  that  dreadful  icene  is  paft,  the  earth  itfelf 
(hall  be  renewed,  and  become  the  habitation  of 
righteoufnefs  ;  I  can  hardly  have  any  doubts,  but 
all  the  rational  part  of  the  creation,  c  fliall  be  de- 
livered from  the  bondage  of  corruption,  into  the 
glorious  liberty  of  the  *  children  of  God.'  See 
Rom.  viii.  19,  20,  21,  22. 

Thus,  if  the  lake  of  fire,  or  fecond  death  itfelf, 
fliall  be  deftroyed,  fliall  ceafe,  and  be  no  more  ; 
there  is  a.i\  end  to  tormenting  pain  j  though,  perhaps, 
inch  inward  reflections,  fliall  continue  for  fome  time 
longer,  (if  not  to  eternity)  which,  though  they  fliall 
tend  exceedingly  to  increafe  the  love  of  God  in  the 
fouls  thus  delivered,  fliall  Hil  them  with  fhame, 
fimilar,  or  perhaps  more  pungent  than  we  feel  here 
on  earth,  when  we  are  melted  under  a  deepfenfe 
of  our  manifold  tranfgrefiions,  and  of  the  pardon- 
ing love  of  God  at  the  fame  time. — This  feems  to 
me  to  be  the  meaning  of  fuch  paflages  as  thefe  : 

*  O  my  God,  make  them  like  a  wheel  •,  as  the 
ftubble  before  the  wind.  As  the  fire  burnetii  the 
wood,  and  as  the  flame  Jctteth  the  mountains  on 
fire  •,  fo  perfecute  them  with  thy  tempeft,  and  make 
them  afraid  with  thy  florm.  Fill  their  faces  with 
fhame,  that  they  may  feek  thy  name,  O  Jehovah. 
Let  them  be  confounded  and  troubled  for  ever  •, 

yea, 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  5  I 

yea,  let  them  be  put  to  fhame,  and  perifh  :  That 
— (our  tranflators  have  added  the  word  men,  but 
the  fenfe  determines  that  the  addition  mould  be) — 
'  they  may  know  that  thou  whofe  name  alone  is 
Jehovah,  art  the  Moft  High  over  all  the  earth,' 
Pfal.  lxxxiii.  13 — 18. 

*  The  wife  mail  inherit  glory,  but  fhame  fhall  be 
the  promotion  of  fools,'  Prov.  hi.  35. 

<  They  fhall  be  greatly  afhamed,  for  they  fhall 
not  profper  ;  their  everlafting  confufion  fhall  ne- 
ver be  forgotten,'  Jer.  xx.  1 1.  xxxiii.  40. 

*  They  fhall  be  afhamed,  and  aifo  confounded, 
all  of  them:  they  fhall  go  to  confufion  together, 
that  are  makers  of  idols/  Ifa.  xlv.  16.  <  And  all 
are  incenfed  againft  him,  (Jehovah)  fhall  be  a- 
ihamed,'  verfe  24. 

*  For  thus  faith  Adonai  Jehovah  ;  I  will  even 
deal  with  thee  as  thou  haft  done,  which  haft  de- 
fpifed  the  oath  in  breaking  the  covenant.  Never- 
thelefs,  I  will  remember  my  covenant  with  thee  in 
the  days  of  thy  youth,  and  I  will  eftablifh  unto  thee 
an  everlafting  covenant.  Then  thou  fhalt  remem- 
ber thy  ways,  and  be  afhamed,  when  thou  fhalt 
receive  thy  fifters,  thine  elder  and  thy  younger 
(  viz.  Samaria  and  Sodom) ;  and  I  will  give  them 
unto  thee  for  daughters,  but  not  by  thy  covenant. 
And  I  will  eftabiifh  my  covenant  with  thee,  and 
thou  fhalt  know  that  I  am  Jehovah  :  That  thou 
mayeft  remember,  and  be  confounded,  and  never 
open  thy  mouth  any  more,  becaufe  of  thy  fhame, 
when  I  am  pacified  towards  thee,  for  all  that  thou 
haft  done,  faith  Adonai  Jehovah,'  Ezek.  xvi.  59 

<  Then  fhall  ye  remember  your  own  evil  ways, 
and  your  doings  that  were  not  good,  and  fhall 
loathe  yourfelves  in  your  own  fight,  for  your  ini- 

C  2  quities, 


5 2  DIALOGUES   ON    THE 

quities,  and  for  your  abominations.  Not  for  your 
fakes  do  I  this,  faith  Adonai  Jehovah,  be  it  known 
unto  you  ;  be  alhamed  and  confounded,  O  houfc 
of  Ifrael,"  Ezek.  xxxvi.  31,  32. 

But  the  lake  of  fire  fhall  go  out,  when  all  the 
purpofes  for  which  it  fhall  be  kindled  are  accom- 
plished ;  and  if  fo,  then  it  follows  of  courfe,  that 
intelligences  fhall  be  no  longer  tormented  therein. 

Friend.  But  when  God  fays,  that  a  fire  fhall 
not  be  quenched,  does  it  not  neceffarily  imply, 
that  it  fhall  never  ceafe  burning  ? 

Minijler.  By  no  means  :  for  we  read  in  feveral 
places  of  Scripture  of  fires  that  have  ceafed,  ages 
ago,  that  were  fpoken  of  in  as  ftrong  terms  as  are 
ufed  by  Chrift,  reflecting  the  fire  of  hell. 

As  for  inftance  :  In  Lev.  vi.  13.  we  read,  «  The 
fire  fhall  ever  be  burning  upon  the  altar  :  it  fhall 
never  go  out/  This  is  a  much  ftronger  expreflion 
than  if  it  had  been  faid,  *  It  (hall  not  be  quench- 
ed ;'  for  it  is  faid,  *  It  fiall  never  go  out ;'  But 
furely,  it  muft  be  ufed  with  fome  limitation ;  for 
for  we  know  that  it  hath  ceafed,  ages  ago :  And 
we  read,  that  Daniel  prophefied  of  the  MefTiah, 
that  he  fhould  ( caufe  the  facrifice  and  oblation  to 
ceafe/  Dan.  ix.  27  ;  but  it  would  certainly  have 
been  a  weak  argument  againft  Daniel's  prophecy, 
that  as  Mofes  had  faid,  The  fire  fhould  never  go 
out  upon  the  altar,  therefore  the  MefTiah  could 
never  caufe  the  facrifice  and  oblation  to  ceafe;  but 
it  would  be  juft  as  good  an  argument  againft  Da- 
niel's prophecy,  as  the  words  of  Chrift  are  againfl 
Ifaiah's  :  *  For  I  will  not  contend  for  ever,  neither 
will  I  be  always  wroth  •,  for  the  fpirit  fhould  fail 
before  me,  and  the  fouls  which  I  have  made.  I 
have  fworn  by  myfelf,  the  word  is  gone  out  of 

my 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  53 

my  mouth  in  righteoufnefs,  and  mall  not  return, 
That  unto  me  every  knee  mall  bow,  every  tongue 
fhall  fwear.  Surely  {hall  fay,  In  Jehovah  have  I 
righteoufnefs  and  (Irength  ;  to  him  mall  come  ; 
and  all  that  are  incenfed  againft  him  fhall  be  a- 
fhamed,'  Ifa.  l'vii.  16.  xlv.  23,  24. 

In  Jer.  xvii.  27.  we  read  :  <  But  if  you  will  not 
hearken  unto  me,  &c.  then  will  I  kindle  a  fire  in 
the  gates  thereof,  and  it  fhall  devour  the  palaces 
of  Jerufalem,  and  it  flail  not  be  quenched.1  See 
alfo  chap.  iv.  4,  xxi.  1 2.  Amos  v.  6.  2  Kings 
xxii.    17. 

Similar  threatnings  we  find  pofitively  pronoun? 
ced  by  Ezekiel,  at  the  command  of  God  :  c  More- 
over the  word  of  Jehovah  came  unto  me  faying, 
Son  of  man,  fet  thy  face  towards  the  fouth,  and 
drop  thy  words  towards  the  fouth,  and  prophefy 
againft  the  foreft  of  the  fouth  field,  and  fay  to  the 
foreft  of  the  fouth,  Hear  the  word  of  Jehovah  •, 
Thus  faith  Adonai  Jehovah,  Behold  I  will  kin- 
dle a  fire  in  thee,  and  it  fhall  devour  every  green 
tree  in  thee,  and  every  dry  tree  :  the  flaming 
flame  fhall  not  be  quenched,  and  all  faces  from 
the  fouth  to  the  north,  fhall  be  burnt  therein  •, 
and  all  flefh  fhall  fee  that  I  Jehovah  have  kindled 
it  ;  it  flail  not  be  quenched,  Ezek.  XX.  45,  46,  47, 
48.     See  alfo  Jer.  vii.  20. 

Now  thefc  threatnings  were  furely  executed ; 
for  the  people  did  not  hearken  to  God  :  he  did 
certainly  kindle  a  fire,  and  it  burnt,  and  was  not 
quenched,  but  confirmed  Jerufalem  and  all  her 
palaces ;  and  the  beautiful  forefts  that  were  fo 
much  efteemed,  fhared  the  fame  fate :  But  what 
perfon  will  argue,  that  the  whole  city  and  country 
muft  be  now  in  flames  •,  and  mull  have  been  con- 
C  3  fuming, 


54  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

fuming,  from  the  days  of  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel, 
becaufe  of  thefe  expreffions,  '  The  flaming  flame 
mail  not  be  quenched,'  &c.  fmce  we  know  that 
Jerufalem,  and  the  country  round  about,  have 
been  fmce  inhabited,  and  will  be  again,  in  a  more 
glorious  manner  than  ever  ? 

Neither  will  it  help  the  matter  to  fay,  that  we 
irruft  underfuand  the  fire  figuratively,  for  the  anger 
of  God,  Sec.  for  he  declares  by  Zechariah,  after 
the  feventy  years  captivity,  that  he  was  <  returned 
to  Jerufalem  ivith  mercies?  See  Zech.  i.  16.  And 
though  the  prefent  defolation  of  that  land  is  com- 
pared to  the  overthrow  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah, 
Admah  and  Zeboim,  Deut.  xxix.  23 — 28.  And 
Ezekiel  not  only  fpeaks  of  it  as  defolate  and  wafle, 
but  as  having  been  always  fo;  though  we  know  it 
was  formerly  filled  with  inhabitants  :  (See  Ezek, 
xxxvi.  34,  35,  xxxviii.  8.)  Yet  all  the  prophets 
fpeak  of  a  time  to  come,  when  it  fhall  be  much 
more  flou riming  than  ever  it  hath  been  ;  and  Ifaiah 
fays,  '  Whereas  thou  haft  been  forfaken  and  hat- 
ed, fo  that  no  man  went  through  thee ;  I  will 
make  thee  an  eternal  excellency,  a  joy  of  many 
generations.  Thou  ffialt  no  more  be  termed  For- 
faken \  neither  fhall  thy  land  be  termed  Defolate  ; 
but  thou  (halt  be  called  Hephzibah  (my  delight  is 
in  her  J  and  thy  land  Beulah  (married)  ;  for  Je- 
hovah delighteth  in  thee,  and  thy  land  fhall  be 
married,'  Ifaiah  lx.  15.  lxii.  4. 

Thus  we  may  fee,  by  thefe  and  many  other  paf- 
fages,  that  predictions  apparently  directly  contrary 
one  to  the  other,  may  be  all  fulfilled  upon  the 
fame  land,  people  and  perfons  \  only  allowing  a 
proper  time  to  each,  without  which  we  can  never 
make  fenfe  of  many  prophecies. 

Ifaiah, 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  55 

Iiaiah,  fpeaking  of  the  land  of  Bozrah,  fays, 
*  And  the  dreams  thereof  fhall  be  turned  into  pitch, 
and  the  dull  thereof  into  brimftone  :  and  the  land 
thereof  fhall  become  burning  pitch.  It  fhall  not 
be  quenched,  night  nor  day ;  the  fmoke  thereof 
fhall  go  up  for  ever  :  from  generation  to  generati- 
on it  fhall  lie  wafte  ;  none  fhall  pafs  through  it, 
for  ever  and  ever.  But  the  cormorant  and  the  bit- 
tern (hall  poiTefs  it  ;  the  owl  alfo,  and  the  raven, 
fhall  dwell  in  it :'  (birds  that  cannot  live  in  fire, 
pitch,  and  brimftone,  any  better  than  men.)  'And 
thorns  fhall  come  up  in  her  palaces,  nettles  and 
brambles  in  the  fortreffes  thereof  j  and  it  fhall  be 
an  habitation  for  dragons,  and  a  court  for  owls. 
The  wild  beafts  of  the  defart  fhall  alfo  meet  with 
the  wild  beafts  of  the  ill  and,  and  the  fatyr  fhall 
cry  to  his  fellow  :  the  fcrcech-owl  alfo  fhall  reft, 
there,  and  find  for  herlelf  a  place  of  reft.  There 
fhall  the  great  owl  make  her  neft,  and  lay  and 
hatch,  and  gather  under  her  fhadow :  there  fhall 
the  vultures  alio  be  gathered,  every  one  with  his 
mate.  Seek  ye  out  of  the  book  of  Jehovah,  and 
read  :  no  one  of  thefe  mall  fail,  none  fhall  want 
her  mate  :  for  my  mouth  it  hath  commanded,  and 
his  Spirit  it  hath  gathered  them.  And  he  hath 
caft  the  lot  for  them,  and  his  hand  hath  divided  it 
unto  them  by  line  :  they  fhall  poffefs  it  for  ever, 
from  generation  to  generation  fhall  they  dwell 
therein,'    Ifaiah  xxxiv.  9,  ic,  11,  13,  14,  15,  16, 

Now,  in  this  pafTage,  there  are  fuch  things  fpo- 
ken  of  as  are  impoilible  to  be  fulfilled  at  once, 
without  as  great  a  miracle  as  was  wrought  for  the 
three  children  in  the  furnace ;  and  which  there  is 
no  reafon  to  expect  will  be  wrought  in  favour  of 
C  4  cormo- 


5  6  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

cormorants,  bitterns,  owls,  ravens,  dragons,  fatyrs> 
wild  beafts,  thorns,  nettles,  and  brambles.  In  the 
icth  verfe  we  read  of  a  period,  called/or  ever, 
wherein  this  land  is  to  be  on  fire  and  is  not  to  be 
quenched,  night  nor  day :  and  the  fmoke  of  it  is 
to  afcend  up  for  ever',  but  in  the  17th  verfe,  it  is 
faid,  that  the  before-mentioned  birds  and  beafts 
fhall  poffefs  it  for  ever,  even  from  generation  to 
generation  fhall  they  dwell  therein.  But  one  of 
thefe  periods  mufr.  end,  before  the  other  can  be- 
gin ;  the  fire  mufr.  ceafe  to  burn,  and  the  fmoke 
to  afcend,  before  beafls  can  take  up  their  conftant 
dwelling  there,  and  birds  can  lay  and  hatch,  and 
gather  their  young  ones  under  their  fhadow,  and 
enjoy  the  fociety  of  their  mates.  And  thus  the 
whole  prophecy  may  be  fulfilled  -,  not  in  thefume, 
but  in  different  periods  :  And  thus  alfo,  may  all  the 
threatenings,  and  all  the  promiies,  in  the  facred 
book,  be  accomplifhed ;  not  at  once,  but  each  in 
their  feafon. 

It  appears  evident,  that  our  Lord,  by  alluding 
to  a  fiie  that  fhall  burn  on  earth,  and  to  worms 
that  (hall  devour  the  nVfh  of  the  (lain,  could  not 
mean  to  prove  the  torments  of  men  to  be  abfo- 
lutcly  cndlefs ;  at  leaft,  the  expreffions  of  the  worm 
that  d'leth  not,  and  the  fire  that  is  not  quenched,  do 
not  nece/pirily  imply  it ;  which  has  been  iufficient- 
ly  proved,  by  the  paffages  where  the  lame  or  fi- 
milar  expreffions  are  ufed,  where  yet  the  fubject 
cannot  intend  endlcfs  duration  ;  and  this  is  all  that 
can  be  neceflary  to  prove  at  prefent. 

As  to  the  expreflion  of  being  falted  with  fire,  as 
every  facrifice  was  falted  with  fait ;  I  am  not  io  clear, 
what  might  have  been  our  Saviour's  intent  in  this 
expreflion  ;  but  I  think,  in  the  firft  place,  he  in- 
truded 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  57 

tended  to  teach  us,  that  they  fhould  not  be  an?iibi- 
lated  by  the  fire,  but  preferved  therein,  to  be  tor- 
mented day  and  night,  in  the  prefence  of  the  holy 
angels,  and  in  the  prefence  of  the  Lamb,  during 
the  ages  of  ages.  I  would  alfo  propofe,  whether 
our  Lord  did  not  mean  to  intimate,  that  even  the 
fire  itfelf  (hall  be  of  ufe  under  his  direction,  to 
humble,  fubdue,  and  penetrate  the  ftubborn  and 
difobedient  rebels,  that  fhallbe  caft  into  it.  Fire, 
as  weii  as  fait,  is  a  great  purifier  :  and  preferves 
and  cleanfes  thofe  things  which  are  able  to  endure 
it  •,  and  is  the  great  agent  by  which  all  metals  are 
ieparated  from  their  drofs,  and  prepared  for  the 
ufe  for  which  they  were  defigned.  Under  the 
law,  all  unclean  things,  that  could  endure  the  fire, 
were  ordered  to  be  caft  into  it,  in  order  to  their 
cleanfing. 

Friend.  "What  you  have  faid  concerning  the  fires 
that  are  reprefented  as  unquenchable,  in  feveral 
paffages  of  Scripture,  is  worthy  of  attention  ;  but 
you  fhould  confider,  that  thefe  fires  were  all  on 
earth,  and  in  time,  and  therefore  muft  have  an 
end,  or  ceafe  to  burn  ;  but  the  fire  of  hell  is  in 
eternity,  and  therefore  muft  laft  as  long  as  eternity 
mail  endure.     Pray,  what  can  you  fay  to  this  ? 

Minifter.  Had  thofe  u?iqnenchable  fires  never  gone 
out  while  earth  endured,  or  while  time  lafted,  there 
might  have  been  fome  force  in  this  argument ;  but 
fince  the  continuance  of  the  fire  does  not  depend 
upon  \\\zfeafon  in  which  it  is  kindled,  but  upon  the 
combujlibles  that  feed  and  fupport  it,  this  can  be  no 
objection  :  Therefore,  fince  thofe  unquenchable 
fires  that  have  been  mentioned,  were  kindled  on 
earth,  and  yet  not  burn  while  earth  lafted,  but 
have  gone  out  long  ago  ;  there  is  no  neceflity  of 
C  5  granting, 


5^  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

granting,  (even  though  we  fhould  admit  your  pre- 
mifes  of  the  fire  of  hell  being  kindled  in  eternity) 
that  the  unquenchable  fire  of  the  burning  lake 
tnujl  unavoidably  burn  to  all  eternity,  merely  be- 
caufe  it  is  fuppofed  to  belong  to  that  ftate  :  But  if 
punifhments  only  belong  to  thofe  ages  of  ages  be- 
fore Chrift  mail  refign  the  kingdom  to  the  Father, 
and  the  lake  of  fire  mall  be  this  terraqueous  globe, 
dhTolved,  or  melted,  with  fervent  heat ;  then  the 
ground  is  changed,  and  the  whole  objection  va- 
nishes of  courfe. 

Friend.  As  you  have  come  over  this  objection 
better  than  I  expected  you  could,  I  (hall  leave  it 
for  the  prefent,  and  confider  more  fully,  when  I 
am  by  myfelf,  what  you  have  faid  upon  this  fub- 
ject ;  and  fhall  now  propofe  the  greateft  objection 
that  can  be  brought  againft  the  Reftoration  of  all 
men,  from  the  Scriptures  *,  and  which,  if  you  can 
fairly  anfwer,  I  mail  be  almoft  periuaded  to  believe 
with  you  :  but  I  am  periuaded  that  you  will  be 
hard  put  to  it. 

Minifter.  Produce  your  caufe,  and  bring  forth 
your  ftrong  reafons,  that  we  may  hear  them  *,  and 
if  I  am  filenced,  I  will  not  be  afhamed  to  acknow- 
ledge it  with  all  my  heait. 

Friend.  I  fhall  bring  my  objection  from  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  ftate  it  with  the  utmoft  precifion  that  I 
am  able  : — It  is  the  fin  againft  the  holy  Ghoft,  of 
which  cur  Saviour  fpeaks  in  the  moft  awful  man- 
ner *,  faying,  *  Wherefore  I  lay  unto  you,  all  man- 
ner of  fin  and  blafphemy  fhall  be  forgiven  unto 
men  :  but  the  blafphemy  againft  the  Holy  Ghoft 
fhall  not  be  formven  unto  men.  And  whofoever 
Tpeaketh  a  word  againft  the  Son  of  man,  it  fhall 
(cr  may)  be  forgiven  him  *,  but  whofoever  fpeakc  th 

againft 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION'.  59 

againft  the  Holy  Ghoft,  it  (hall  not  be  forgiven 
him,  neither  in  this  world  (or  age)  neither  in  the 
world  (or  age)  to  come.  Verily,  I  fay  unto  yon, 
all  fins  (hall  (or  may)  be  forgiven  unto  the  fons  of 
men,  and  blafphemies  wherewith  foever  they  fhall 
blafpheme  :  but  he  that  mail  blafpheme  againft  the 
Holy  Ghoft,  hath  never  forgivenefs,  (or  hath  not 
forgivenefs  to  the  age)  but  is  in  danger  of  eternal 
damnation,'  St.  Matth.  xii.  31,  32.  St  Mark, 
iii.  28,  29.  This  is  fuch  a  matter  of  importance, 
that  three  of  the  evangelifts  notice  it.  St.  Luke 
hath  it  thus  :  *  And  whofoever  fhall  fpeak  a  word 
againft  the  Son  of  man,  it  fhall  (or  may)  be  forgi- 
ven him  ;  but  unto  him  that  blafphemeth  againft 
the  Holy  Ghoft,  it  fhall  not  be  forgiven,'  St.  Luke, 
xii.  10.  St.  Matthew  faith,  this  fin  fhall  not  be 
forgiven  in  this  world,  nor  in  that  to  come  -,  St. 
Mark,  that  fuch  an  one  hath  never  forgivenefs, 
but  is  in  danger  of  eternal  damnation  •,  and  St. 
Luke  pofitively  faith,  it  fhall  not  be  forgiven  : 
And,  to  confirm  the  matter  ftill  more,  if  poilible, 
St.  Paul  faith,  '  For  it  is  impoflible  for  thofe  who 
were  once  enlightened,  and  have  tafted  the  hea- 
venly gift,  and  were  made  partakers  of  the  Holy 
Ghoft,  and  have  tafted  the  good  word  of  God, 
and  the  powers  of  the  world  to  come  ;  if  they 
fhall  fall  away,  (or,  and  have  fallen  away)  to  re- 
new them  again  to  repentance  ;  feeing  they  cruci- 
fy to  themfelves  the  Son  of  God  afrefh,  and  put 
him  to  an  open  ihame.  For  if  we  fin  wilfully, 
after  that  we  have  received  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth,  there  remaineth  no  more  facriftce  for  fins, 
but  a  certain  fearful  looking  for  of  judgment,  and 
fiery  indignation,  which  fhall  devour  the  adver- 
faries.  He  that  defpifed  Mofes's  law,  died  with- 
out 


6o  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

out  mercy,  by  the  mouth  of  two  or  three  witnef- 
fes  :  Of  how  much  forer  punifhment,  fuppofe  ye, 
fhall  he  be  thought  worthy,  who  hath  trodden 
under  foot  the  Son  of  God,  and  hath  counted 
the  blood  of  the  covenant,  wherewith  he  was  fanc- 
tified,  an  unholy  thing,  and  hath  done  deipite  un- 
to the  Spirit  of  grace  ?'  Heb.  vi.  4,  5,  6,  x.  26, 
27,  28,  29.  And  the  fame  Apoftle  directs  us, 
laying ;  c  Looking  diligently,  left  any  man  fail  of 
the  grace  of  God  j  left  any  root  of  bitternefs 
fpringing  up  trouble  you,  and  thereby  many  be 
defiled  :  Left  there  be  any  fornicator,  or  profane 
perfon,  as  Efau,  who  for  one  morfel  of  meat  fold 
his  birthright.  For  ye  know  how  that  after- 
wards, when  he  would  have  inherited  the  blefling, 
he  was  rejected  •,  for  he  found  no  place  of  re- 
pentance, though  he  fought  it  with  tears.'  Heb. 
xii.  15,    16,   17. 

And  St.  John,  the  beloved  difciple,  fays ;  (  If 
any  man  fee  his  brother  fin  a  fin  which  is  not 
unto  death,  he  fhall  afk,  and  he  fhall  give  him 
life  for  them  that  fin  not  unto  death.  There  is  a 
fin  unto  death  :  I  do  not  fay  that  he  fhall  pray 
for  it/   1  John  v.  16. 

Now  here  is  a  fin  for  which  there  is  no  forgive- 
nefs,  neither  in  this  world  (or  age)  or  in  that  to 
come  •,  which  fhall  not  be  forgiven  at  all  •,  he  that 
committeth  it  hath  never  forgivenefs,  is  in  danger 
of  eternal  damnation  ;  he  cannot  be  renewed  again 
to  repentance,  becaufe  he  hath  crucified  Chrift  to 
himfelf  afrefh,  and  hath  put  him  to  an  open  fhame  : 
having  finned  wilfully  and  malicioufly,  after  receiv- 
ing the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  to  fuch  no  more 
facrifice  for  fins  remaineth  ;  judgment  and  fiery  in- 
dignation are  his  certain  portion ,  he  is  an  adver- 

fary, 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  6 1 

fary,  and  mufl  be  devoured  :  a  forer  punifhment 
than  death  without  mercy  awaits  him,  of  which 
he  is  worthy,  for  that  he  hath  trodden  under  foot 
the  Son  of  God,  the  only  Saviour,  and  hath  count- 
ed the  precious  blood  of  the  covenant,  wherewith 
he  was  fanctified,  and  which  alone  is  able  to  cleanfe 
from  fin,  an  unholy  thing  j  and  hath  done  defpite 
to  the  Spirit  of  grace,  which  is  only  able  to  renew 
the  heart,  and  therefore  the  cafe  of  fuch  muft  be 
defperate ;  for  if  fuch  an  one,  like  Efau,  mould 
wifh  to  repent  and  gain  what  he  had  loft,  it  could 
not  be,  for  he  would  find  no  place  for  repentance, 
though  he  might  feek  it  carefully  with  tears ;  for 
having  committed  the  fin  unto  death,  for  which  no 
prayer  is  to  be  made,  no  interceflion  offered  up, 
he  is  bound  over  to  the  fecond  death,  the  lake  of 
fire  and  brimftone,  and  mufl:  bear  the  punifhment 
of  his  fins  for  ever  and  ever  ! !  ! — What  fay  you 
to  this  ? 

Minifler.  As  when  Nebuchadnezzar  told  Daniel 
his  dream,  he  was  aftonifhed  for  one  hour  at  the 
greatnefs  of  the  punifhment  which  he  faw  would 
inevitably  come  upon  the  King  \  much  more  muft 
all  thofe  be,  who  read  and  confider  thefe  dread- 
ful threatenings,  which  muft  furely  come  upon  all 
thofe  who  have  finned  in  the  manner  defcribed  !  I 
fhall  make  a  few  obfervations  upon  thefe  moft  ter- 
rible paflages  of  Scripture  ;  partly  to  prevent  fee- 
ble minds  from  falling  into  deipair,  that  may  fee 
them  collected  in  one  ftrikingview  ;  partly  to  cure 
proud  minds  of  prefumption  ;  and  partly  to  fhew 
that  the  doctrine  of  the  Reftoration  may  be  de- 
fended, notwithftanding. 

i.  We  are  fure  that  the  Scribes  and  Pharifees  of 
our  Saviour's  time,  who  blafphernoufly  afcribed 

his 


62  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

his  miracles  to  the  power  of  the  devil,  did,  in  the 
moft  direct  and  undeniable  manner,  commit  that 
fin ;  and  fome  are  doubtful  whether  it  can  be  com- 
mitted by  any  in  thefe  days. 

2.  It  is  generally  acknowledged,  that  the  He- 
brews were  in  danger  of  committing  that  fin,  by 
openly  and  wilfully  apoftatizing  from  Chriftianity, 
and  publicly  renouncing  Chrift  and  his  falvation, 
and  blafpheming  againlr  the  Holy  Ghoft,  after 
having  been  partakers  of  its  extraordinary  gifts. 

3.  It  cannot  be  committed  by  ignorant  perfons, 
nor  without  a  confiderable  degree  of  malice  pre- 
penfe  :  light  in  the  underftanding,  and  malice  in 
the  heart,  are  necelTary  ingredients  of  this  dreadful 
crime  ;  and  it  appears  to  me,  it  mult  be  committed 
openly,  and  that  it  cannot  be  committed  in  thought 
only. 

4.  Under  the  Levitical  difpenfation  there  were 
many  unpardonable  fins — crimes  that  could  not  be 
forgiven  or  overlooked,  and  for  which  no  atone- 
ment could  be  made,  and  which  were  punifhed 
with  death,  without  mercy  •,  other  crimes,  urilefs 
facrifices  were  offered,  and  repentance  took  place, 
fubjecled  the  parties  to  death  alio  ;  but,  under  the 
gofpel,  there  is  but  one  crime  that  is  properly  un- 
pardonable, and  that  abfolutely  fubjeels  the  perfon 
guilty  of  it  to  the  fecond  death  ;  yet  many  o'her 
fins  are  threatened  with  the  fame  punifhment  con- 
ditionally, but  they  may  be  forgiven,  and  not  pu- 
nifhed at  all ;  but  this  one  muft  as  certainly  be 
punifhed  with  the  fecond  death,  as  murder  or  any 
other  crime,  was  by  the  law  of  Mofes  punifhed 
with  the  death  of  the  body  without  mercy  or  for- 
givenefs.  Forgery  is  the  unpardonable  fin  of  Eng- 
land :    people  frequently  furFer  death  for  other 

crimes, 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  63 

crimes,  as  well  as  this ;  but  other  offences  are 
fometimes  forgiven,  but  this  never  ;  it  is  always 
punifhed  with  death.  This  circumftance  may  il- 
luftrate  my  meaning.  The  fin  againfl  the  Holy 
Ghoft  is  an  offence  of  that  kind,  that,  either  owing 
to  its  uncommon  malignity  (as  is  molt  likely,)  or 
ibme  other  caufe,  expofes  the  guilty  perfon  to  the 
age  of  judgment,  from  which  he  cannot  efcape  by 
repentance,  pardon,  and  fprinkling  of  the  blood  of 
Chrift,  as  other  finners  may  •,  neither  can  he  be  at 
prefent  born  of  the  Spirit,  to  which  he  hath  done 
defpite :  nor  can  he  be  reclaimed  by  any  poffible 
means,  in  this  age,  or  in  the  age  that  is  to  fuc- 
ceed  this,  but  is  inevitably  bound  over  to  fuffer 
the  inconceivable  torments  of  the  fecond  death,  or 
lake  of  fire  and  brimftone,  after  the  day  of  judg- 
ment. 

5.  There  is  no  kind  of  difpute  between  us,  re- 
fpecYing  the  certainty  of  the  punifhment  of  fuch  ; 
in  this  we  both  agree :  he  that  finneth  againfl  the 
Holy  Ghoft,  is  in  danger  of  eternal  damnation, 
or  judgment,  or  the  fecond  death  : — The  queftion 
is,  Shall  there  ever  come  a  time,  when  the  fecond 
death,  or  kike  of  fire,  fhall  no  more  exifr  ?  If  this 
can  be  proved,  the  conclufion  will  be  evident,  viz. 
that  not  one  fhall  remain  under  the  power  thereof 
to  all  eternity  :  Upon  this,  and  this  alone,  depends 
thefolution  of  this  awful,  interefting,  and  moft  im- 
portant queftion  :  and  I  confider  all  other  anfwers 
as  mere  quibbles,  compared  with  this.  And  if  it 
cannot  be  proved  that  a  time  will  come,  when  all 
that  bears  the  name  of  death  fhall  be  deftroyed* 
thofe  who  commit  the  fin  unto  death,  mufl,  at  leaft, 
be  allowed  to  ftand  as  exceptions  to  the  general 
rule  •,  and,  I  am  apt  to  mink,  the  rule  itfelf  will 

be 


64  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

be  overthrown.  I  (hall  therefore  labour  this  point 
a  little  ;  and  if  I  fhould  be  fo  happy  as  to  prove 
to  your  fatisfaction  the  total  deftru&ion  of  death, 
it  will  anfwer  many  other  objections  as  well  as  this. 
My  only  refuge  is  Scripture  •,  if  that  fails  me,  I  mall 
not  prefume  to  purfue  the  fubjett  farther. 

Ifa.  xxv.  8.  '  He  will  fw allow  up  Death  in  vic- 
tory ;  and  Adonai  Jehovah  will  wipe  away  tears 
from  off  all  faces/  Hof.  xiii.  14.  'I  will  ranfom 
them  from  the  power  of  the  grave  •,  I  will  redeem 
them  from  death,  O  death,  I  will  be  thy  plagues  ; 
O  grave,  (or  hell)  I  will  be  thy  deftrudtion  :  Re- 
pentance mail  be  hid  from  mine  eyes.'  1  Cor.  xv. 
26.  ( The  laft  enemy  that  fhall  be  deftroyed  is 
Death* — or  rather,  as  the  words  may  more  proper- 
ly be  arranged,  '  Death,'  the  laft  enemy,  mall  be 
deftroyed.'  The  fecond  death  is  infinitely  more 
the  enemy  of  man  than  the  firft,  and  may  there- 
fore be  confidered  as  an  enemy  which  God  will  de- 
ftroy. — Now, 

If  the  laft  enemy  mail  be  deftroyed,  there  will 
not  be  one  left. 

But  the  firft  is  true  ;  therefore  alio  the  laft. 
As, 

Would  it  not  be  highly  abfurd  to  fay,  that,  Al- 
though the  very  laft  enemy  fhall  be  deftroyed,  yet, 
many  millions  fhall  remain  to  all  eternity  ? 

Verfe  56.  <  The  fting  of  Death  is  fin.'  While 
fin  remains  in  exiftence,  death  will  be  able  to  fhew 
its  fting  ;  but  the  time  will  come  when  death  fhall 
have  no  fting  to  boaft  of;  therefore  fin,  and  con- 
fequently  death  of  every  kind,  fhall  be  deftroyed. 
1  John  iii.  8.  '  For  this  purpole  the  Son  of  God 
was  manifefted,  that  he  might  deftroy  the  works 
of  the  devil.'     Unlefs  Chrift  finally  deftroys  the 

workt 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  65 

works  of  the  devil,  even  all  fin  out  of  the  univerfe, 
his  purpofe  mult  be  eternally  fruftrated  : 

But  the  laft  can  never  be  j  therefore  the  firfl  is 
true. 

Htb.  ii.  14.  c  Forafmuch,  then,  as  the  children 
are  partakers  of  flefh  and  blood,  he  alfo  himfelf 
likewife  took  part  of  the  fame ;  that  through  death 
he  might  deftroy  him  that  had  the  power  of  death, 
that  is  the  devil/ — Now  what  death  has  the  devil 
power  over  ?  the  death  of  the  body  ?  or  that  of 
the  foul,  which  coniifts  in  enmity  againft  God,  and 
feparation  from  him  ?  c  To  be  carnally  minded  is 
death  ;  but  to  be  fpirituaUy  minded  is  life  and  peace. 
Becaufe  the  carnal  mind  is  enmity  againfl:  God  ; 
for  it  is  not  fubjecr.  to  the  law  of  God,  neither 
indeed  can  be,'  Rom.  viii.  6,  7.  If  this  death, 
with  the  confequence  of  it,  is  that  which  the  de- 
vil hath  the  power  of,  then  muft  this  death  be 
deflroyed. 

But,  I  think,  the  firft  is  true  •,  therefore  alfo  the 
kit. 

Rev.  xxi.  4.  we  read,  <  And  God  mall  wipe  away 
all  tears  from  their  eyes  ;  and  there  (hall  be  no  more 
Death,  neither  forrow,  nor  crying,  neither  fhall 
there  be  any  more  pain  :  for  the  former  things  are 
paiTed  away.'  Here  is  a  Ifate  fpoken  of  beyond 
all  death ;  a  Hate  wherein,  forrow,  crying,  and 
pain  fhall  be  no  more.  This  ftate  is  cotemporary 
with  the  new  heaven  and  earth,  after  the  lake  of 
fire  hath  ceafed. 

Friend.  "We  have  always  underftood  this  pafTage 
to  relate  to  the  death  of  the  body,  and  even  to  the 
death  of  the  righteous  only  ;  but  making  this  ftate 
cotemporary  with  the  new  heavens  and  earth,  feems 
to  throw  a  new  light  upon  the  fubjecT;. 

Minifer. 


66  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

Mini/ler.  Mod:  certainly  the  word  Death  here- 
implies  the  fecond  death  ;  for  we  are  informed,  in 
the  foregoing  chapter,  of  the  firft  refurrecYion, 
even  that  of  the  martyrs,  who  were  beheaded  for 
the  witnefs  of  Jefus,  and  for  the  word  of  God  •, 
and  fuch  as  had  not  worshipped  the  beaft  and  his 
image,  neither  had  received  his  mark  in  their  fore- 
heads, or  in  their  hands  ;  then  we  read  of  a  thou- 
fand  years  between  this  refurrecYien,  and  the  reft 
of  the  dead  living  again  :  after  this,  we  find,  that 
the  dead,  fmall  and  great,  flood  before  God,  and 
were  judged  ;  and  fuch  as  were  not  found  written 
in  the  book  of  life,  were  calf  into  the  lake  of  fire, 
which  is  exprefsly  called  c  the  fecond  death  \  which 
as  before  obferved,  is  probably  the  earth  in  its 
melted  ftate.  In  this  chapter  we  find,  that  all 
things  are  to  be  made  new ;  and  Death  is  to  be 
no  more,  neither  forrow,  nor  crying,  neither  any 
more  pain.  But  this  inuft  be  the  lecond  death,  or 
lake  of  fire  \  for  the  refurrecYion  of  all  the  bodies, 
both  of  the  juft  and  unjuft,  had  been  fpoken  of 
before. 

Thus,  as  all  fin,  and  all  that  bears  the  name  of 
death,  fhall  be  entirely  deftroyed  at  lafl  •,  the  doc- 
trine of  endlefs  mifery  feems  to  fall  to  the  ground, 
or,  at  leaft,  cannot  be  certainly  proved  from  Scrip- 
ture, but  rather  the  contrary. 

The  time  mull:  come  when  all  things  mail  be 
fubjecl  to  Chrift,  when  he  fhall  deftroy  death,  the 
laft  enemy,  by  deftroying  fin,  which  is  the  fling  of 
death  ;  fo  this  dreadful  fin,  as  well  as  others,  fhall 
be  no  more.  For  if  this  was  not  to  be  the  cafe,  it 
never  could  be  true,  that  *  where  fin  abounded, 
grace  did  much  more  abound  :'  for  it  never  would 
abound  quite  lb  much  ;  neither  would  death  and 

hell 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  6f 

hell  be  filent  when  God  mall  afk  the  great  ques- 
tions, '  O  death  where  is  thy  fting  ?  O  grave,  (or 
hell)  where  is  thy  victory  ?'  for  death  could  lay, 
Here  is  my  fling,  that  fin  againft  the  Holy  Ghoft, 
which  muft  endure  to  all  eternity,  and  which  even 
divine  grace  {hall  never  deftroy  ;  I  have,  therefore, 
the  victory  and  dominion  over  thefe  finners  who 
have  committed  it,  and  will  hold  it  while  God  him- 
felf  exifts.  Then  death  could  never  be  deftroyed, 
nor  Swallowed  up  in  victory  •,  neither  would  for- 
row,  crying,  and  pain  ceafe  *,  neither  could  God 
ever  be  all  in  all,  in  any  other  fenfe,  with  re- 
fpect  to  them,  than  he  is  now ;  nor  would  every 
longue  fiuear  ;  neither  would  all  things  wholly  be 
made  new,  nor  all  the  former  things  ever  pafs 
!  neither  could  the  univerfal  chorus  of  praife 
ever  be  fung  by  every  creature,  in  heaven,  on  earth, 
and  under  the  earth,  and  throughout  God's  wide 
domain  ;  and,  finally,  many  Scriptures  would  ne- 
ver feem  to  be  fulfilled,  in  the  f u Heft  fen Se.  Rom. 
v.  20,  21.  '  But  where  fin  abounded,  grace  did 
much  more  abound  ;  that  as  fin  hath  reigned  unto 
death  ;  even  So  might  grace  reign,  through  righte- 
oufneSs,  untoeternallife,  by  Jefus  Chrift  our  Lord/ 
Now,  if  grace  {hall  abound  more  than  fin,  it  Shall 
be  as  univerfal,  and  more  powerful:  But  the  flrfi: 
is  true  ;  therefore  alfo  the  laft.  If  grace  Shall  be 
as  extenfive  as  fin,  and  more  powerful,  all  who 
have  finned  {hall  be  reftored  :  But  the  fir  ft  is  true  ; 
therefore  alSo  the  laft. 

What  confequences  muft  follow  from  the  fup- 
pofition,that  Some  of  God's  creatures  fhall  always 
remain  his  enemies  !  Either  God  created  fome  to 
be  miferable  to  endlefs  ages,  or  muft  be  fruftrated 

eternally 


#8  DIALOGUES    ON   THE 

eternally  in  his  defigns,  or  all  muft  be  reftored  at 
laft,  and  made  happy  by  love  and  free  love. 

The  firft  is  blasphemous,  the  fecond  is  difho- 
nourableto  God  :  therefore,  the  third  muft  be  true : 
For  I  cannot  think  of  a  fourth  conclufion. 

Friend.  What  do  you  think  of  the  deplorable 
cafe  of  Efau,  <  who,  for  one  morfel  of  meat,  fold 
his  birthright  •,  and  afterwards,  when  he  would 
have  inherited  the  blefling,  he  was  rejected  ;  for 
he  found  no  place  of  repentance,  though  he  fought 
it  carefully,  with  tears  ?' 

M'mifter.  He  certainly  loft,  or  rather  fold,  his 
birth-right ;  in  confequence  of  which,  he  loft  the 
blefling  belonging  to  the  hrft-born  :  But  left  any 
fhould  be  led  to  conclu  !e  from  this,  that  poor  Efau 
had  no  bleflings  at  all,  the  fame  apoftle  informs 
us,  that,  '  By  faith,  Ifaac  blefTed  Jacob  and  Efau, 
concerning  things  to  come,"  Heb.  xi.  20.  By  this 
we  find,  he  was  blefTed,  as  well  as  Jacob  ;  but  in 
a  lefs  degree. 

Friend.  Do  we  not  read,  *  Jacob  have  I  loved  ; 
but  Efau  have  I  hated  ?'  Rom    ix.   13.  Mai.  i. 

2>  3- 

Minijler.  Yes,  moft   certainly :  But  then   this 

love  and  hatred,  fo  called,  was  manifefted  to  their 
pofterity,  and  not  to  their  perfons,  in  the  manner 
defcribed  by  the  prophet :  <  I  have  loved  you,  faith 
Jehovah  :  yet  ye  fay,  Wherein  haft  thou  loved  us  ? 
Was  not  Efau  Jacob's  brother  ?  faith  Jehovah  : 
yet  I  loved  Jacob,  and  I  hated  Efau,  and  laid  his 
mountains  and  his  heritage  wafte,  for  the  dragons 
of  the  wildernefs.'  This  manifeftation  of  hatred 
did  not  affecl:  the  eternal  ftate  of  their  fouls,  but 
their  condition  in  this  world  :  God  declared,  that 
Jacob's  feed  fhould  exift  as  a  diftinct  people  to  the 

end 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  69 

end  of  time,  but  that  Efau's  fhould  not :  and  this 
difference  is  evident ;  for  the  remains  of  Efau's  feed 
were,  in  the  days  of  the  Maccabees,  incorporated 
with  the  feed  of  Jacob,  and  exifted  no  more  for 
ever,  as  a  nation  by  themfelves.  From  Jacob's 
race  the  MefTiah  was  to  come,  and  all  nations  were 
to  be  blefTed  in  the  feed  of  Ifrael.  In  all  thefe  in- 
ftances,  and  in  many  others,  there  was  a  manifefl: 
preference  of  Jacob  to  Efau  ;  but  nothing  like  po- 
sitive hatred  can  be  intended. 

Chrift.  fays,  (St.  Luke,  xiv.  26.)  '  If  any  man 
come  to  me,  and  hate  not  his  father  and  mother, 
and  wife,  and  children,  and  brethren,  and  fillers, 
yea,  and  his  own  life  alfo,  he  cannot  be  my  difci- 
ple.'  But  we  cannot  fuppofe  our  Lord  intended 
pofitive,  but  comparative  hatred ;  according  to  St. 
Matth.  x.  37.  He  that  loveth  father  or  mother 
more  than  me,  is  not  worthy  of  me :  and  he  that 
loveth  fon  or  daughter  more  than  me,  is  not  wor- 
thy of  me/ 

Friend,  What  you  have  faid  upon  this  fubjecl: 
appears  to  have  fome  weight,  and  I  will  confider 
it  more  fully  hereafter  :  but  I  muft  beg  leave  to  afk 
you,  how  you  get  over  that  great  gulph  which 
is  placed  between  the  regions  of  Paradife  and  Ge- 
hernia,  of  which  Abraham  fpeaks  to  the  rich  man  ; 
faying,  ■  And  befides  all  this,  between  us  and  you 
there  is  a  great  gulph  fixed  •,  fo  that  they  which 
would  pafs  from  hence  to  you,  cannot ;  neither  can 
they  pafs  to  us,  that  would  come  from  thence.' 
Does  not  this  imply  the  abfolute  impoflibility  of 
the  rich  man's  being  ever  reftored  ? 

Min'ifter.  You  have  afked  me  many  queftions  ; 
give  me  leave  to  afk  you  one. — Do  you  believe, 

that 


7«  ,      DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

that  Jefus  of  Nazareth  was  able  to  pafs  thatimpaf- 
fable  gulph  ? 

Friend.  Indeed,  that  is  a  queffcion  I  never  heard 
propofed  before  ;  and  which  I  am  not  prepared  to 
anfwer,  without  farther  con  fide  ration.  Pray,  be 
fo  kind  as  to  give  an  anfwer  yourfelf,  and  tell  me 
what  you  think  of  it. 

Minifter.  I  believe,  that  with  man  it  is  impoffi- 
ble ;  but  with  God  all  things  are  poiTible  :  And  I 
believe,  that  Jefus  Chrift  was  not  only  able  to  pafs, 
but  that  he  actually  did  pafs  that  gulph,  which  was 
impafTable  to  all  men,  but  not  to  him  :  And  he  ai- 
fures  St.  John,  that  he  had  paffed  it,  and  not  only 
fo,  but  that  he  had  the  keys  of  the  fame  in  his  pof- 
feffion  ;  for  he  faith,  '  Fear  not,  I  am  the  firft  and 
the  lalt ;  I  am  he  that  liveth,  and  was  dead  ;  and 
behold,  I  am  alive  for  evermore,  Amen  ;  and  have 
the  keys  of  hell  and  death/  And  St.  Peter  informs 
us,  that  c  Chrift  once  fufFered  for  fins,  the  juft 
for  the  unjuft,  (that  he  might  bring  us  unto  God)-, 
being  put  to  death  in  the  flefh,  but  quickened  by 
the  Spirit ;  by  which  alfo  he  went  and  preached 
to  the  fpirits  in  prifon  *,  who  fometime  were  difo- 
bedient,  when  once  the  long  fuffering  of  God 
waited,  in  the  days  of  Noah,  while  the  ark  was  a 
preparing  ,'  And  he  alfo  tells  us,  that  we  '  fhall 
give  account  to  him  that  is  ready  to  judge  the 
quick  and  the  dead.  For,  for  this  caufe  was  the 
gofpel  preached  alfo  to  them  that  are  dead/  (in 
diftindYion  from  them  that  are  quick)  '  that  they 
might  be  judged  according  to  men  in  the  flefh,  but 
live  according  to  God  in  the  fpirit.'  See  Rev.  i.  18. 
I  Pet.  iii.  1 8,  19,  20.  iv.  5,  6. 

Friend.  You  know,  the  common  opinion  is,  that 
the  Spirit  of  God,  in  Noah,  preached  unto  the  in- 
habitants 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  Jl 

habitants  of  the  old  world  ;  who,  in  St.  Peter's 
time,  were  (hut  up  in  the  prifon  of  hell :  But  I  muft 
confefs,  it  appears  to  me  a  very  dark  text. 

Minijler.  If  you  only  obferve  how  particular 
the  expreffions  are  in  thefe  texts,  I  think  it  will 
foon  appear,  that  not  the  Spirit  of  God  in  Noah,  but 
the  fpirit,  or  foul,  of  Chrift,  in  its  difembodied 
ftate,  is  here  intended.  His  body  was  doubtlefs 
quickened,  by  his  foul,  or  fpirit  coming  into  it 
again  :  "Was  it  not  ? 

Friend.  It  feems  molt  reafonable  to  believe  it 
was. 

Minijler.  Then  obferve  the  next  words,  he  went; 
here  the  idea  of  a  journey  to  a  diftant  place  is  in- 
timated, the  original  word  being  expreffive  of  an 
actual  paffage  from  one  place  to  another,  and  is 
the  fame  that  is  ufed  in  ver.  22,  for  the  afcenfion 
of  Chrift  into  heaven,  fo  that  he  appears  to  have 
gone  into  the  prifon  in  the  fame  proper  fenfe,  as 
he  afterwards  went  into  heaven.  He  actually 
journeyed  to  the  place  of  confinement,  and  preach- 
ed to  the  fpirit 's,  &c.  He  preached  the  go/pel  no 
doubt ,  not  to  men  in  the  body,  but  to  thefpiritsy 
to  thofe  in  a  difembodied  ftate  ;  not  only  fo,  but 
to  the  fpirits  in  prifon  :  Had  they  not  been  in  the 
prifon,  Chrift  would  not  have  gone  into  the  prifon 
to  preach  to  them.  But,  who  were  thefe  fpirits  ? 
St.  Peter  informs  us,  that  they  are  thofe  who  were 
fometime  difobedient  ,■  but  this  cxpreffion  intimates, 
that  the  time  is  perfectly  pair. ;  as,  'Ye  were  the 
fervants  of  fin  :  for  when  ye  were  the  fervants 
of  fin,  ye  were  fiee  from  righteoufnefs,'  Rom.  vi. 
17,  20.  St.  Peter  tells  us  when  they  were  difo- 
bedient ;  when  once  the  Ion g-fuffe ring  of  God  waited 
in  the  days  of  Noah,  while  the  ark  was  a  preparing  : 

Here 


72  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

Here  he  evidently  diftinguifhes  the  two  periods  of 
their  vifitation;  one  is  called  the  preaching  of 
Chrift,  by  his  fpirit,  after  he  was  put  to  death  in 
the  flefh. ;  and  the  other  is  called  the  long-fufFer- 
ing  of  God,  which  waited  in  the  days  of  Noah, 
while  the  ark  was  a  preparing.  The  long-fufFering 
of  God  waited  upon  them,  before  they  were 
drowned,  while  the  ark  was  building ;  but  Chrift 
preached  to  them  when  they  were  fpirits  in  prifon. 
They  were  difobedient  to  God's  long-fuffering ; 
but  it  is  not  certain  that  they  were  fo  when  Chrift 
preached  to  them ;  but  the  contrary  is  intimated 
in  thefe  words  :  (  For,  this  caufe  was  the  go/pel 
preached  alfo  to  them  that  are  dead,  &c.  This  can- 
not intend  thofe  that  are  fpiritually  dead  only,  but 
thofe  whofe  bodies  are  dead  ;  becaufe  we  here  find 
the  dead  fet  in  oppofition  to  the  quick,  or  thofe  whofe 
bodies  are  alive,  and  not  thofe  that  are  fpiritually 
alive;  for  we  may  obferve,  that  whenever  the 
words  quick  and  dead  occur,  by  quick,  we  always 
underftand  thofe  whofe  bodies  are  alive  ;  and  by 
dead,  thofe  who  have  ceafed  to  exift  here. 

A&s,  x.  40,  &c.  St.  Peter,  in  his  fermon  to  Cor- 
nelius and  his  family,  informed  them  of  Jefus, 
who  was  flain,  whom  *  God  raifed  from  the  dead, 
and  fhewed  him  openly  :  not  to  all  the  people, 
but  unto  witnefTes,  chofen  before  of  God  •,  even 
to  us,  who  did  eat  and  drink  with  him,  after  he 
rofe  from  the  dead.  And  he  commanded  us  to 
preach  unto  the  people,  and  to  teftify,  that  it  is 
he,  who  was  ordained  of  God  to  be  the  judge  of 
quick  and  dead.'  And  St.  Paul  fays  to  Timothy, 
I  charge  thee,  therefore,  before  God,  and  the 
Lord  Jefus  Chrift,  who  fhall  judge  the  quick  and 
the  dead  at  his  appearing,  and  his  kingdom ; 
1  preach 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  73 

preach  the  word/  &c.  See  2  Tim.  iv.  1.  So,  in 
1  Pet.  iv.  5.  the  words  quick  and  dead  are  ufed  in 
the  fame  manner  ;  and  then  immediately,  while 
the  idea  is  warm  in  our  minds,  the  apoftle  gives  us 
the  reafons  why  the  gofpel  was  preached  to  the 
dead,  {or  the  fpirits  in  prifon)  of  which  he  had  be- 
fore informed  us,  and  now  repeats  again,  and  af- 
fures  us,  that  it  was,  that  they  might  be  judged  ac- 
cording to  men,  in  theflejh  ',  or,  as  though  they  had 
heard  it  while  they  were  alive  in  the  flefh :  but  alio, 
that  they  might  live  according  to  God,  in  the  fpirit. 
The  gofpel  not  only  was,  but  isf  preached  to  them 
that  are  dead,  in  a  moral or fpiritual Tenfe.  It  need 
not  have  been  faid  ;  For,  for  this  caufe  was  the 
gofpel  preached  also  to  them  that  are  dead,  if  only 
the  fpiritually  dead  are  intended ;  for  it  is  rarely 
preached  to  any  other  but  fuch.  Why  mould  it 
be  faid,  that  they  might  be  judged  according  to  men  in 
thefe/h,  if  they  were  men  in  the  flefli  at  the  time 
when  it  was  preached  to  them  ? 

This  paffage  proves  the  exigence  of  the  foul  after 
the  death  of  the  body  :  for  unlefs  the  fouls  of  the 
antedeluvians  exifted  after  the  drowning  of  their 
bodies,  Chrifl  could  not  have  preached  to  them  in 
prifon  :  But  the  dead  being  oppofed  to  the  quick  in 
this  pafTage,  fufficiently,  and  even  inconteflibly, 
determines  the  fenfe. 

With  a  little  attention,  we  may  eafily  be  con- 
vinced, that  Chrifr.  was  not  only  d'efigned  to  be  a 
Covenant  of  the  people,  (meaning  the  Jews)  and 
a  Light  to  the  Gentiles  ;  which  two  defcriptions 
comprehend  all  the  living :  but  alfo,  to  bring  out 
the  prifoners  from  the  prifon,  and  them  that  fit 
in  darknefs  out  of  the  prifon-houfe  •,  which  (if  it 
£>  be 


74  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

be  not  a  repetition)  mufl  intend  the  dead,  as  all  the 
living  were  mentioned  before. 

c  And  he  faid,  It  is  a  light  thing  that  thou 
fhouldeft  be  my  fervant,  to  raife  up  the  tribes  of 
Jacob,  and  to  reftore  the  preferved  of  Ifrael :  I 
will  alfo  give  thee  for  a  light  to  the  Gentiles,  that 
thou  mayeft  be  my  falvation  unto  the  ends  of  the 
earth.  Thus  faith  Jehovah,  In  an  acceptable 
time  have  I  heard  thee  and  in  a  xiay  of  falvation 
have  I  helped  thee  :  and  I  will  preferve  thee,  and 
give  thee  for  a  covenant  to  the  people,  to  efta- 
blifh  the  earth,  to  caufe  to  inherit  the  defolate  he- 
ritages.' Thus  far  the  Redeemer's  work  feems  li- 
mited to  the  earth,  and  refpecls  the  living :  But 
the  prophet  goes  much  farther,  and  fays,  c  That 
thou  mayeft  fay  to  the  prifoners,  Go  forth :  to 
them  that  are  in  darknefs,  Shew  yourielves  :  they 
mall  feed  in  the  ways,  and  their  paftures  mall  be 
in  all  high  places.  They  mall  not  hunger,  nor 
thirft  ;  neither  {hall  the  heat  nor  fun  finite  them  ; 
for  he  that  hath  mercy  upon  them  mall  lead  them, 
even  by  the  fprings  of  water  mall  he  guide  them.' 
See  Ifaiah,  xlii.  6,  7.  xlix.  6,  8,  9,  10.  Compar- 
ed with  Rev.  vii.  14,  15,  16,  17.  The  work  of 
the  Saviour,  as  defcribcd  by  the  elegant  pen  of 
Ifaiah,  (chap.  lxi.  1,  2,  3.)  feems  to  comprehend  a 
great  variety  of  particulars ;  all  which  he  hath 
performed  already,  or  fhall  execute  in  due  time. 
*  The  Spirit  of  Adonai  Jehovah  is  upon  me  ;  be- 
caufe  Jehovah  hath  anointed  me,  (1)  to  preach 
good  tidings  to  the  meek. :  (2)  He  hath  fent  me  to 
bind  up  the  broken-hearted;  (3)  to  proclaim  li- 
berty to  the  captives,  (4)  and  the  opening  of  the 
prifon  to  them  that  are  bound:  (5)  To  proclaim 
the  acceptable  year  of  Jehovah,  (6)  and  the  day 
1  of 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  75 

of  vengeance  of  our  God  :  (7)  To  comfort  all  that 
mourn  :  (8)To  appoint  unto  them  that  mourn  in 
Zion,  to  give  unto  them,  Firjl,  beauty  for  afhes  ; 
Secondly,  the  oil  of  joy  for  mourning ;  Thirdly,  the 
garment  of  praifefor  the  fpirit  of  heavinefs :  that 
they  might  be  called,  Firjl,  Trees  of  righteouf- 
nefs ;  Secondly,  The  planting  of  Jehovah  -,  (and 
all  for  this  great  end) — that  he  might  be  glorified.' 
Our  Lord  Jefus  Chrift,  by  his  procefs,  hath  laid 
a  foundation  for  the  recovery  of  all  men  ;  c  For  to 
this  end  Chrifl  both  died,  rofej  and  revived,  that  he 
might  be  Lord,  both  of  the  dead  and  living,'  Rom. 
xiv.  9.  He  pafTed  through  all  our  ftates,  that  he 
might  redeem  us.  He  came  down  from  Heaven 
— he  was  conceived  in  the  womb  of  Mary — he 
was  born  of  her — he  lived  in  the  world  unknown 
— he  fympathized  with  us  in  our  forrows — he  bare 
our  fins  in  his  own  body,  on  the  tree — he  was  bu- 
ried— he  defcended  into  Hades — He  arofe — afcend- 
ed  — fitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  God — and  maketh 
continual  interceflion  for  us. 

It  feemed  necefTary,  that  our  Saviour  mould  viflt 
men  in  all  fituations,  that  he  might  redeem  them. 
The  apoftle  informs  us,  faying,  <  Forafmuch  as 
the  children  are  partakers  of  flefh  and  blood,  he 
alfo  himfelf  likewile  took  part  of  the  fame :  that 
through  death,  he  might  deftroy  him  that  had 
the  power  of  death,  that  is,  the  devil ;  and  deliver 
them,  who,  through  fear  of  death,  were  all  their 
life-time  fubjecT:  to  bondage,'  Heb.  ii.  14,  15.  It 
was  not  only  necefTary  that  he  mould  die,  to  van- 
quifh  death,  and  to  redeem  us  from  its  power ; 
but  it  was  equally  needful  for  him  to  go  into  thofe 
places,  where  fpirits  were  confined  in  the  regions 
of  darknefs ,  that  he  might  gain  univerfal  domini- 
D  2  on, 


l 


76  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

on,  fpoil  principalities,  and  redeem  the  captives 
whom  he  had  bought  with  his  blood,  in  order 
that  he  might  alcend  up  to  Heaven,  and  open  to 
his  followers  the  gates  of  eternal  life. 

4  Wherefore  he  faith,  Whenheafcended  up  on 
high,  he  led  captivity  captive,  and  gave  gifts  unto 
men.  Now  that  he  afcended,  what  is  it  but  that 
he  alfo  defcended  fir  ft  into  the  lower  parts  of  the 
earth  ?  He  that  defcended,  is  the  fame  alfo  that 
afcended  up  far  above  all  heavens,  that  he  might 
fill  all  things,'  Ephef.  iv.  8,  9,  10.  '  And  having 
fpoiled  principalities  and  powers,  he  made  a  fhew 
of  them  openly,  triumphing  over  them  in  it,'  Col. 
ii.   15. 

Thus  our  Saviour  by  his  divine  procefs,  hath 
obtained  a  right  to  open  the  prifon  doors,  and  let 
the  captives  go  free  :  and  though  the  rich  man  was 
in  torments,  where  he  could  not  get  a  drop  of  wa- 
ter to  cool  his  tongue,  and  hud  judgment  without 
mercy,  becaufe  he  had  Jbciued  no  mercy ;  yet  it  is  pof- 
fible,  that,  by  the  blood  of  the  covenant,  he  may 
be  fent  forth  out  of  the  pit  wherein  is  no  water. 
See  Zech.  ix.  11.  The  Lord  Jefus  is  able  to  take 
the  prey  from  the  mighty,  and  to  deliver  the  law- 
ful captive,  Ifa.  xlix.  24. 

c  Such  as  fit  in  darknefs,  and  in  the  fhadow  of 
death,  being  bound  in  affliction,  and  iron  ;  be- 
caufe they  rebelled  againft  the  words  of  God,  and 
contemned  the  couniel  of  the  Moil  High ;  there- 
fore he  brought  down  their  heart  with  labour  -, 
they  fell  down,  and  there  was  none  to  help.' — 
Th*s  evidently  points  out  the  deplorable,  m'sfera- 
ble  ftate  of  Tinners,  cut  off  in  their  fms  j  having 
rebelled  againft  God's  words,  and  contemned  his 
eouniels*,  for  which  reaibn  he  hath  (hut  them  up 

fa 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  77 

in  Jarkneis,  and  in  the  fhadow  of  death  •,  in  fach 
a  iituation,  that  no  power  but  his  own,  can  give 
them  the  leafr  help,  much  lefs  releafe.  Such  cir- 
cumflances  feldom  occur  in  this  life  \  but  thefe 
words  are  a  lively  and  affecting  defcription  of  the 
miferies  of  the  future  ftate. 

*  Then  they  cried  unto  Jehovah  in  their  trou- 
ble, and  he  laved  them  out  of  their  diftrefTes. 
He  brought  them  out  of  darknefs,  and  the  fha- 
dow of  death,  and  brake  their  bands  in  funder. 
O  that  men  would  praife  Jehovah  for  his  good- 
nefs,  and  for  his  wonderful  works  to  the  chil- 
dren of  men  !  For  he  hath  broken  the  gates  of 
brafs,  and  cut  the  bars  of  iron  in  funder,'  Pial. 
cvii.  ic — 1 6. 

This  amazing  deliverance  feems  to  be  described 
in  fuch  language,  as  correfponds  much  better 
with  the  deliverance  of  the  fpirits  from  their 
dreadful  prifon,  than  with  any  temporal  mercies 
that  are  beftowed  on  mankind  here  on  earth.  '  The 
righteous  mall  fee  it,  and  rejoice  ;  and  all  iniqui- 
ty mall  flop  her  mouth :  Whoib  is  wife,  and 
will  obierve  thefe  things,  even  they  fhall  under- 
stand the  loving  kindnefs  of  Jehovah,'  ver.  42, 

43- 

Thofe  who  are  acquainted  with  the  Divine  cha- 
racter, and  fee  his  defigns  of  mercy  towards  his 
creatures,  fhall  rejoice  in  the  fame  :  They  that  are 
wife,  fhall  obierve  thefe  things,  and  fhall  under- 
ftand  his  loving  kindnefs  ;  and  that  c  Jehovah  is 
good  to  all :  and  his  tender  mercies  are  over  all 
his  works,'  Pfal.  cxlv.  9. 

Thus,  how  impoflible  foever  it  might  appear  to 

us,  that  the  rich  man  fhould  ever  be  delivered, 

we  muft  remember,  that  *  with  God  nothing  fhall 

D   3  be 


7*  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

be  impoffible,'  St.  Luke  i.  37.  <  Is  there  any 
thing  too  hard  for  Jehovah  ?'  Gen.  xviii.  14. 
•Behold  (fays  he)  I  am  Jehovah,  the  God  of 
all  flem  :  Is  there  any  thing  too  hard  for  me  V 
Jer.  xxxii.  27. 

Our  Saviour  fays,  (St.  Matt.  xix.  24,  St.  Mark 
x.  25.  St.  Luke  xviii.  25.)  '  It  is  eafier  for  a  camel 
to  go  through  the  eye  of  a  needle,  than  for  a  rich 
man  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God.'     Whe- 
ther the  word  here  ufed,  intends  a  camel  or  a  ca- 
ble, it  certainly  implied  the  greateft  difficulty  imagi- 
nable, even  amounting  in  the  view  of  his  difciples,  » 
to  a  natural  impoffibility,  or  they  would  not  have 
been  as  the  evangelift  expreffes  it,  exceedingly  amaz- 
ed, and  ajlonijhed  out  of  mcafure  at  his  words,  (  fay- 
ing among  themfelves,  Who  then  can  be  laved  ?' 
But,  though  Jefus  meant  to  reprefent  the  matter 
~s  in  itfelf  a  kind  of  natural  impoffibility,  and  ab- 
folutely  impoffible  to  men  •,  yet  he  could  not  in- 
tend thereby,  that  it  never  mould  be  accompiifh- 
ed,  becaufe  he  immediately  adds,    *  With   men, 
this  is  impoffible  ;  but  not  with  God  :  For  with 
God  all    things   are   poffible,'    St.   Mark  x.   27. 
Therefore,  though  it  was  impoffible  for  men  to  pafs 
the  gulph  between  Paradife  and  Gehenna ;  yet,  as 
we  have  feen,  Chrift  was  able,  and  therefore  as 
we  know  not  the  ne plus  ultra  of  his  power  to  fave, 
we  cannot  pofitively  conclude  againjl  the  ReJIoration, 
from  this  inftance  of  the  rich  man,  unlefs  we  could 
find  fome  paffiiges   of  Scripture,  where  God  has 
promifed  never  to  reflore,  or  to  reconcile  fuch  to 
himfelf,  whom  he  hath  once  caff  off:  the  contrary 
to  which,  I  think,  may  be  proved :  but  I  am  at 
prefent  confidering,  that,  in  the  nature  of  things, 
it  is  not  impoffible  for  God  to  reftore  the  rich 

man, 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  79 

man,  if  he  fo  pleafes ;  and,  confequently,  others 
that  are  in  the  fame  fituation. 

Behold  the  rich  man  in  another  world  ! He 

feems  now  to  have  much  more  true  benevolence  in 
him,  than  in  his  life-time  ;  for  when  he  could  not 
obtain  a  drop  of  water  for  his  tongue,  he  pleads 
much  more  earneftly  for  Lazarus  to  be  fent  to  his 
five  brethren,  to  teftify  to  them,  left  they  alfo 
mould  come  into  the  fame  place  of  torment  with 
himfelf.  Here  he  urges  the  matter  moil  earneft- 
ly, and  does  not  feem  willing  to  be  denied.  This 
fhews  him  not  to  have  been  fo  loft  to  virtue  as  Sa- 
tan ;  fince  he  and  his  angels,  though  miferable 
themfelves,  feek  to  make  all  men  fo  too,  though 
their  torments  are  increafed  thereby. 

Add  to  all  this,  that  Abraham  called  the  rich 
man,  '  Son/  and  bade  him  remember,  that  in  his 
life-time  he  had  his  good  things  :  and  likewife  La- 
zarus, evil  things  ;  and  that  therefore  it  was  but 
realbnable  that  the  fcene  mould  be  changed  :  that 
Lazarus  mould  be  comforted,  and  he  tormented. 
And  I  think,  nothing  can  be  fairly  argued  from 
his  cafe,  in  favour  of  endlefs  damnation  :  For  in 
cafe  he  was  doomed  to  fuffer  while  Godexi/ls,  there 
could  be  no  proportion  between  the  fuffe rings, 
torments,  and  evil  things  of  Lazarus  on  earth,  and 
thofe  which  he  endured  in  hell ;  whereas  it  is  inti- 
mated in  the  Scriptures,  that  all  things  are  deter- 
mined by  number,  weight,  and  meafure.  Let  us 
hear  what  our  Lord  has  faid  upon  the  fubjecl:.  St. 
Luke  xii.  47,  48.  s  And  that  fervant  who  knew 
his  Lord's  will,  and  prepared  not  himfelf,  neither 
did  according  to  his  will,  fhall  be  beaten  with  ma- 
ny ftripes.  But  he  that  knew  not,  and  did  com- 
mit things  worthy  of  ftripes,  (hall  be  beaten  with 
D  4  few 


%G  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

few  ftripes  :  for  unto  whomfoever  much  is  given, 
of  him  mail  be  much  required  ;  and  to  whom  men 
have  committed  much,  of  him  they  will  afk  the 
more.'  But  what  difference,  fo  much  to  be  noti- 
ced, could  there  be,  if  both  were  to  be  beaten  to 
all  eternity  P  or  how  could  either  be  laid  to  have 
few,  if  there  never  was  to  be  an  end  ?  Impoflible  ! 
Rev.  xviii.  7.  «  How  much  fhe  (Babylon)  hath 
glorified  herfelf,  and  lived  delicioufly  •,  fo  much 
torment  and  forrow  give  her.'  All  this  appears 
juit  and  reafonable :  But  to  fuppofe  a  poor  ignorant 
Heathen,  or  a  child  of  ten  years  old,  will  remain 
in  mifery  as  long  as  the  moft  perfecuting  Tyrant,  or 
apofbte  Chriftian,  feems  to  contradict  all  the 
ideas  we  have  of  juftice  and  equity,  as  v/ell  as  of 
goodnefs  -,  for  in  this  cafe,  who  can  fuppofe  that 
each  one  is  exactly  rewarded  according  to  his 
works  ?  And  efpecially,  can  any  think,  that  mercy 
iias  any  hand  111  a  reward,  where  there  is  feeming- 
ly  no  proportion  ?  Whereas  we  read,  (Pfalm  lxii. 
12.)  '  Alfo  unto  thee,  O  Lord,  belongeth  mercy : 
for  thou  rendereft  to  every  man  according  to  his 
work.' 

Friend.  Indeed,  I  could  not  have  thought  that 
fo  much  could  have  been  faid  upon  that  fide  of 
the  cafe  ;  and  though  I  am  not  yet  wholly  fatis- 
fied,  I  muffc  cenfefs,  fomeof  my  great  difficulties 
feem  to  be  removed,  from  what  you  have  faid  j 
and  yet  there  appears  fomething  very  dreadful  in 
the  account.  Pray,  do  you  underftand  it  as  a  pa- 
rable ? 

Mimjler.     I  am  moft  inclined  to  think  it  is  a 
piece  of  real  hiftory,  known  to  our  Saviour,  who 
was  well  acquainted  with  what  palled  in  the  fpi- 
ritual,  as  well  as  the  natural  world  \  and  who  in- 
tended 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  Si 

tended  thereby  to  give  an  awful  warning  to  the 
Pharifees,  (who  were  covetous)  of  the  dreadful 
condition  of  wicked  rich  men  in  the  next  ftate  : 
and  efpecially,  of  thole  who  neglect  or  defpife  the 
poor. 

Friend.  I  am  inclined  to  think  with  you  in  this 
matter  :  and  therefore,  without  any  farther  delay, 
I  fhall  pafs  to  mention  another  ftrong  objection  to 
the  doctrine  of  the  Reftoration  of  ail  men ;  viz. 
the  inftance  of  Judas  :  of  whom  our  Saviour  fays, 

*  The  Son  of  man  goeth,  as  it  is  written  of  him  ; 
but  woe  to  that  man  by  whom  the  Son  of  man 
is  betrayed  ;  it  had  been  good  for  that  man,  if  he 
had  not  been  born,  St.  Matt.  xxvi.  24.  St.  Mark, 
xiv.  21.  If  Judas  mould  ever  be  reftored,  how 
could  the  Saviour  fay,  c  Good  were  it  for  that 
man,  if  he  had  never  been  born  ?'  I  think  you  wil 
find  it  difficult  to  remove  this  objection  \  for,  if 
he  is  ever  to  be  happy,  (though  after  many  ages) 
it  will  be  good  for  him  that  he  was  born. 

Minifler.  I  cannot  think  that  this  is  fo  ftrong  an 
argument  againft  the  general  Reltitution,  as  molt 
that  ufe  it  imagine.  It  was  a  common  proverb 
among  the  Jews,  when  any  great  misfortune  hap- 
pened to  a  man,  or  his  family,  to  fay,  c  Good 
were  it  for  that  man,  if  he  had  never  been  born.' 
And  thus  our  Saviour  ufed  it  with  great  propriety 
reflecting  Judas  :  for  who,  that  thinks  with  any 
reafon  at  all,  would  not  have  wifhed  that  he  had 
never  been  born,  rather  than  to  have  betrayed  the 
dear  Redeemer  ? 

Friend.  But  can  any  thing  lefs  than  cndlefs  dam- 
nation   be    fufficient  to  juftify  the  expreiTion   of 

•  Good  were  it  for  that   man,  that  he  had  never 
been  born  ?'    . 

D   5  Minifla. 


$2  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

Minifter.  I  am  of  opinion  that  even  worldly 
troubles  (fhort  as  they  are)  may  fufficiently  juftify 
the  expreffion.  There  are  a  thoufand  circumftan- 
ces  into  which  the  children  of  Adam  fall,  that 
make  their  cafe  infinitely  worfe  than  though  they 
had  never  been  born,  even  without  fuppofing  a  ftate 
of  future  punifhment  at  all.  I  had  rather,  a  thou- 
fand  times,  never  have  been  born,  than  to  have  be- 
trayed Chrift,  even  upon  the  fuppofition  that  I  had 
never  been  doomed  to  fuffer  for  it  beyond  this 
life.  Job,  when  he  had  loft  his  fubftance,  his 
children,  and  his  eafe,  opened  his  mouth,  and, 
through  excefs  of  grief  curfed  the  day  of  his  birth  : 
though  it  does  not  appear  that  he  had  any  fear  of 
future  damnation,  but  the  reverfe. 

<  And  Job  fpake,  and  faid,  '  Let  the  day  pe- 
rifh  wherein  I  was  born  ;  and  the  night  in  which 
it  was  faid,  There  is  a  man-child  conceived.  Let 
that  day  be  darknefs  *,  let  not  God  regard  it  from 
above  j  neither  let  the  light  fhine  upon  if.  Let 
darknefs  and  the  fhadow  of  death  frain  it;  let  a 
cloud  dwell  upon  it :  let  the  blacknefs  of  day  ter- 
rify it.  As  for  that  night,  let  darknefs  feize  upon 
it :  let  it  not  be  joined  unto  the  days  of  the  year  ; 
let  it  not  come  into  the  number  of  the  months. 
Lo  !  let  that  night  be  folitary  \  let  no  joyful  voice 
come  therein.  Let  them  curfe  it  that  curfe  the 
day,  who  are  ready  to  raife  up  their  mourning. 
Let  the  ftars  of  the  twilight  thereof  be  dark  ; 
let  it  look  for  light,  but  have  none  •,  neither  let  it 
fee  the  dawning  of  the  day  •,  becaufeit  (hut  not  up 
the  doors  of  my  mother's  womb,  nor  hid  iorrow 
from  mine  eyes.  Why  died  I  not  from  the  womb  ? 
"Why  did  not  I  give  up  the  ghofr,  when  I  came 
out  of  the  belly  ?    Why  did  the  knees  prevent 

me? 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  83 

me  ?  or,  why  the  breafts  that  I  fhould  fuck  ?  For 
now  fhould  I  have  been  ftill,  and  been  quiet ; 
I  fhould  have  flept  •,  then  had  I  been  at  reft,  with 
kings  and  counfellors  of  the  earth,  who  built  deib- 
late  places  for  themfelves  ;  or  with  princes,  that 
had  gold,  who  filled  their  houfes  with  filver  :  Or, 
as  an  hidden,  untimely  birth,  I  had  not  been ;  as 
infants,  who  never  faw  light.  There  the  wicked 
ceafe  from  troubling ;  and  there  the  weary  be  at 
reft.  There  the  prifoners  reft  together  :  they 
hear  not  the  voice  of  the  oppreffer.  The  fmall 
and  great  are  there  •,  and  the  fervant  is  free  from 
his  mafter,'  See  Job,  iii.  2 — 19. 

From  this  difcourfe,  it  fcems,  that  Job  thought 
it  would  have  been  better  for  him  never  to  have 
been  born,  than  to  have  fallen  into  fuch  fore  trou- 
bles in  this  prefent  life,  without  taking  the  other 
into  his  account  j  but  if  he  had  known  that  he  had 
been  doomed  to  fuffer  the  amazing  torments  of 
the  fecond  death,  in  the  lake  of  fire  and  brim- 
ftone,  what  would  he  have  faid  ?  Even  upon  the 
fuppofition  that  it  was  only  to  laft  for  ages,  he 
would  have  thought  that  his  being  born  into  this 
world,  to  be  fitted  for  fuch  a  punifhment,  would 
have  been  the  greateft  curfe  that  could  have  be- 
fallen him. 

If  Job,  who  could  fay,  *  I  know  that  my  Re- 
deemer liveth,  and  that  he  fhall  ftand  at  the  lat- 
ter day  upon  the  earth :  And,  though  after  my 
fkin  worms  deftroy  this  body,  yet  in  my  flefh 
fhalll  iee  God  :  whom  I  ihall  fee  for  myfelf,  and 
mine  eye>  fhall  behold,  and  not  another  -,  though 
my  reins  ue  confumed  within  me.  He  knoweth 
the  way  th.it  I  take ;  and  when  he  hath  tried  me, 
I  fhall  come  forth  as  gold.     My  foot  hath  held  his 

iteps  j 


&4  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

fteps  ;  his  way  have  I  kept,  and  not  declined  ;  nei- 
ther have  I  gone  back  from  the  commandment  or 
Ills  lips  :  I  have  efteemed  the  words  of  his  mouth 
more  than  my  necefTary  food.  Though  he  flay 
me,  yet  will  I  truft.  in  him  :  but  I  will  maintain 
mine  own  ways  before  him.  He  alfo  mail  be  my 
ialvation.  My  righteoufnefs  I  hold  fad,  and  will 
not  let  it  go  :  my  heart  (hall  not  reproach  me  fo 
long  as  I  live.'  (See  Job,  xix.  25,  26,  27.  xxiii. 
10,  11,  12.  xiii.  15,  16.  xxvii.  6.)  And  who 
could  make  fuch  a  folemn  protection  of  his  inno- 
cence and  uprightnels,  before  God  and  man,  as 
we  find  in  the  xxix.  xxx.  xxxi.  chapters  of  that 
book.  If  fach  a  man  had  reafon  to  fay,  •  Where- 
fore, then,  haft  thou  brought  me  forth  out  of  the 
womb  ?  Oh  !  that  I  had  given  up  the  ghoft,  and 
no  eye  had  ken  me  !  I  mould  have  been  as  though 
I  had  not  been  *,  I  ihould  have  been  carried  from 
the  womb  to  the  grave,'  (See  Job  x.  18,  19.)  with 
what  amazing  propriety  might  Chrift  fay  of  Judas, 
the  traitor,  who  fmned  in  fuch  a  dreadful  manner, 
and  had  fuch  horrible  guilt  on  his  confeience : 
who  died  in  black  defpair,  perifhed  in  fuch  an  aw- 
ful foliation,  in  his  fins,  and,  probably,  by  his  own 
hands  :  who  furFered  the  molt  violent  agitations  of 
mind,  died  under  the  power  of  the  horrid  fuggef- 
tions  of  the  great  enemy  of  men,  without  one  fmile, 
or  look  of  forgiveneis,  from  Jefus,  or  even  daring 
to  feek  it ;  whofe  forrow  in  this  life  far  exceeded 
Job's,  (for  Job  had  no  fenfe  of  guilt,  treafon,  and 
ingratitude  ;  nor  was  he  filled  with  rage,  blafphe- 
my,  and  defpair) — and  who  muff,  probably  have 
his  rortion  in  the  fecond  death ; — '  Good  were  it 
for  that  man,  if  he  had  never  been  born  !  even  up- 
on 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  8$ 

on  the  fuppofition  that  his  torments  are  not  de- 
figned  to  continue  while  God exifts. 

Jeremiah  is  another  inftance  much  to  my  pur- 
pole  ;  who  wifhed  that  he  had  never  been  born, 
even  at  the  very  time  when  he  knew  the  Lord  was 
his  helper ;  only  becaufe  he  had  been  put  in  the 
flocks  by  Pafhur,  and  had  fuffered  a  little  pain  and 
fhame  in  a  good  caufe.  He  was  not  afraid  of  end* 
lefs  damnation^  nor  yet  of  any  future  punifhment : 
for  he  thus  exprefled  himfelf,  in  all  the  language 
of  full  aflurance ;  '  But  Jehovah  is  with  me,  as 
a  mighty  terrible  One  :  therefore,  my  perfecut- 
ors  {hall  {tumble,  and  they  {hall  not  prevail; 
they  mall  be  greatly  afhamed,  for  they  {hall  not 
profper  ;  their  everlalting  confuilon  mall  never 
be  forgotten.  But,  O  Jehovah  of  Holts,  that 
trieft  the  righteous,  and  feeft  the  reins  and  the 
heart,  let  me  fee  thy  vengeance  on  them  (or,  thou 
wilt  let  me  fee,  &c.)  for  unto  thee  have  I  opened 
my  caufe.  Sing  unto  Jehovah,  praife  ye  Jeho- 
vah :  for  he  hath  delivered  the  foul  of  the  poor 
from  the  hand  of  evil  doers.  How  ftrong  his 
faith  !  how  full  his  afTurance !  Yet  it  is  evident, 
that  he  thought  it  would  have  been  much  better 
for  him,  perfonally,  never  to  have  been  born ; 
for  he  immediately  adds,  '  Curfed  be  the  day 
wherein  I  was  born ;  let  not  the  day  wherein  my 
mother  bare  me,  be  blefled.  Curfed  be  the  man 
who  brought  tidings  to  my  father,  faying,  A  man 
child  is  born  unto  thee,  making  him  very  glad. 
And  let  that  man  be  as  the  cities  which  Jehovah 
overthrew,  and  repented  not :  And  let  him  hear 
the  cry  in  the  morning,  and  the  {homing  at  noon- 
tide ;  becaufe  he  flew  me  not  from  the  womb  :  or 
that  my  mother  might  have  been  my  grave  :  and 

her 


$6  DIALOGUES   ON   THE 

her  womb  to  be  always  great  with  me.  Where- 
fore came  I  out  of  the  womb,  to  fee  labour  and 
forrow,  that  my  days  fhould  be  confumed  with 
fhame  ?'  See  Jer.  xx.  n  — 18. 

Here  is  not  a  word  about  a  itate  of  future  pu- 
nifhment,  much  lefs  endlefs  damnation^  and  yet  the 
good  prophet  Jeremiah  thought,  that  if  he  had 
never  been  born,  it  would  have  been  far  better 
for  him. 

Friend.  I  muft  confefs,  I  never  before  considered 
it  poffible  to  anlwer  this  objection  •,  you  have  done 
much  towards  folving  it :  but  you  muft  confider, 
that  both  Job  ano  Jeremiah  paffionately  exclaimed, 
and,  through  forrow,  uttered  fuch  rafli  words, 
as,  in  their  cooler  moments,  they  repented  of;  and 
therefore,  what  they  fpake  of  themfelves  cannot 
wholly  fet  afide  the  objection.  Had  they  deliver- 
ed thole  exprefTions  as  general  truths,  and  declared, 
that  men  had  much  better  never  have  been  born, 
than  to  have  fufFered  iuch  degrees  of  worldly  for- 
row, it  would  ha\  e  more  than  anfwered  the  objec- 
tion j  but,  when  men  under  grief  exclaim  in  fuch 
a  manner,  we  cannot  ground  a  matter  of  fuch  im- 
portance upon  what  they  fay  refpecling  themfelves  '9 
as  their  minds,  being  overwhelmed  with  trouble, 
and  the  immediate  fenfations  of  pain,  are  bialTed, 
and  cannut  utter  the  calm  dictates  of  fober  reafon. 
But  Chrift,  though  under  great  forrows  himfelf, 
faw  the  cafe  of  Judas  fo  deplorable,  that  he  ex- 
prefled  himfelf  thus  refpecling  him  ;  which  was 
the  fober  truth,  without  exaggeration  ;  and  could 
this  be  laid  of  him,  or  of  any  other  of  the  hu- 
man race,  upon  the  fuppofition  that  mifery  is  not 
absolutely  endlefs? 

Min\flcr* 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION".  $7 

Mintfter.  We  do  not  find  that  Job  or  Jeremiah 
ever  recanted,  in  their  cooler  moments,  what  they 
uttered  in  their  forrows  ;  and  our  Lord,  fpeaking 
of  the  deftruction  of  Jerufalem,  fays,  '  And  woe 
unto  them  that  are  with  child,  and  to  them  that 
give  fuck  in  thofe  days,'  See  St.  Matth.  xxiv  19. 
St.  Mark,  xiii.  17.  Not  becaufe  of  their  future, 
endlefs  damnation,  in  diftincYion  from  others  •,  but 
on  account  of  their  prefent  trouble  and  forrow  ;  as 
is  explained,  Luke  xxi.  23.  c  But,  woe  to  them 
that  are  with  child,  and  to  them  that  give  fuch,  in 
thofe  days  :  for  there  fhall  be  great  diitxefs  in  the 
land,  and  wrath  upon  this  people/  And  when 
the  Saviour  was  led  to  death,  we  read,  £  And  there 
followed  him  a  great  company  of  people,  and  of 
women,  who  alio  bewailed  and  lamented  him. 
But  Jefus,  turning  unto  them,  faid,  Daughters  of 
Jerufalem,  weep  not  for  me,  but  for  yourfelves, 
and  for  your  children.  For  behold  the  days  are 
coming,  in  the  which  they  fhall  fay,  BlefTed  are  the 
barren,  and  the  wombs  that  never  bare,  and  the 
paps  which  never  gave  fuck.  Then  iliall  they  fay 
to  the  mountains,  Fall  on  us  ;  and  to  the  hills, 
Cover  us.  For  if  they  do  thefe  things  in  a  green 
tree,  what  fhall  be  done  in  the  dry  ?'  St.  Luke, 
xxiii.  27 — *— 3 1. 

And  who  would  not,  a  thoufand  times,  choofe 
rather  never  to  have  been  born,  than  even  to  fee, 
far  lefs  experience,  the  miferies  which  came  upon 
Jerufalem  and  its  inhabitants  ?  Would  it  not  have 
been  better  tor  mothers  never  to  have  been  born, 
than  to  have  killed  and  eaten  their  own  children  in 
the  fiege  ?  And  would  it  not  have  been  better  for 
the  children  never  to  have  been  born,  than  to  have 
beeo  food  for  their  mothers  ? 

But 


88  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

But  Solomon  not  only  reprefents  a  ftate  of  great 
mifery  and  affliction  in  this  life,  as  worfe  than  net 
to  have  been  born,  but  alfo,  a  ftate  of  the  greateft 
profperity,  if  it  ends  in  difgrace  ;  for  he  fays,  '  If 
a  man  beget  an  hundred  children,  and  live  many 
years,  fo  that  the  days  of  his  years  be  many,  and 
his  foul  be  not  filled  with  good  ;  and  alfo,  that  he 
have  no  burial  •,  I  fay,  that  an  untimely  birth  is 
better  than  he.  For  he  (the  untimely  birth)  cometh 
in  with  vanity,  and  departeth  in  darknefs  ;  and  his 
name  fhall  be  covered  with  darknefs.  Moreover, 
he  hath  not  feen  the  fun,  nor  known  any  thing : 
this  hath  more  reft  than  the  other.  Yea,  though 
he  live  a  thoufand  years  twice  told,  yet  hath  he 
feen  no  good  :'  (z.  e.  no  equivalent  good,  to  balance 
his  difgrace).  '  Do  not  all  go  to  one  place  ?'  All 
came  from  duit,  and  turn  to  duft  again.  See 
Ecclef.  vi.  3,  4,  5,  6. 

The  ftate  here  defcribed  by  Solomon,  is  not  only 
infinitely  better  than  the  damnation  of  hell,  though 
limited  by  certain  periods  ;  but  far  preferable  to 
many,  if  not  to  moft  fituations  of  men  in  this  life  : 
and  yet  he  prefers  an  untimely  birth  to  a  man  who 
lives  more  than  twice  the  age  of  Methufelah,  and 
has  an  hundred  children  of  his  own,  if  he  has  not 
his  foul  filled  or  fatisfied  with  good  ;  and  that  he 
hath  no  burial,  or  has  not  honour,  (credit,  or  re- 
putation) at  his  death. 

Long  life  and  many  children^  were  formerly  es- 
teemed as  the  greateft  of  bleflings  :  but  as  the 
things  of  this  life  cannot  fill  the  foul  with  good  ; 
fo  a  man  had  better  never  have  been  born,  than  to 
have  enjoyed  the  good  things  of  this  world  in  the 
greateft  profufion,  if  he  dies  in  difgrace,  and  has 
no  burial,  or  is  not  honoured  at  his  death.     Yet, 

this 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  89 

this  is  not  worthy  to  be  named  in  the  fame  day 
with  the  damnation  of  hell  ;  yet,  is  frequently 
threatened  as  a  great  and  terrible  judgment •,  which, 
if  it  falls  upon  a  man,  however,  he  may  have  en- 
joyed long  life,  health,  wealth,  and  all  kinds  of 
proiperity  *,  it  makes  it  worfe  for  him  than  if  he  had 
never  been  born,  according  to  the  decifion  of  God 
himfelf;  and,  therefore,  no  wonder  that  Chrur. 
faid  of  wicked  Judas;  '  Good  were  it  for  that  man, 
if  he  had  never  been  born.' 

Though  I  have  anfwered  you  fo  largely,  yet  one 
word  might  have  fufficed  to  have  anfwered  the 
whole  objection  at  rirft ;  viz.  Had  Judas  died  be- 
fore he  had  been  born,  and  perifhed  from  his  mo- 
ther's womb,  he  would  never  have  finned,  far  lefs 
betrayed  Chrift  •,  he  would  have  entered  into 
peace  immediately,  *  where  the  wicked  ceafe  from 
troubling,  and  where  the  weary  are  at  reft  :'  In 
that  cafe,  he  would  have  efcaped  the  judgment 
that  came  upon  him,  and  would  have  had  more 
reft  than  thofe  who  mould  live  in  all  the  affluence 
of  life  two  thoufand  years,  and  beget  each  an  hun- 
dred children,  and  yet  mould  not  be  honoured  at 
their  death. 

Some  would  have  anfwered  the  objection  fhort- 
er,  by  laying,  Chriit  promifed  twelve  thrones  to 
his  twelve  apoftles,  among  whom  Judas  was  one ; 
and  therefore,  he  mull  be  reftored,  or  the  promife 
cannot  be  fulfilled:  See  St.  Matth.  xix.  28.  But 
this  I  do  not  infift  upon  ;  neverthelefs,  thofe  who 
anfwer  the  objection  this  way,  make  an  obferva- 
tion  that  may  be  worth  attention  ;  viz.  that  Peter, 
fpeaking  of  Judas,  faith,  <  Let  his  habitation  be  de- 
folate,  and  let  no  man  dwell  therein  ;'  that  is,  Let 

his 


90  DIALOCtJES    ON    THE 

his  manfion  be  referved  for  him,  let  no  man  take 
pofleflion  of  it  ;  but   <  His  biuhopric,  or  office,  let 
another  take/      See  Acts,  i.  20.  compared  with 
Pfal.  ixix.  25.  cix.  8.    But  I  am  rather  of  opinion 
that  the  defolation  of  the  habitation  of  the  wicked, 
and  the  want  of  inhabitants  in  their  tents,  refpects 
this  ftate,  and  is  part  of  the  curfe  pronounced  up- 
on all  traitors ;  and  may  therefore  in  an  eminent 
fenfe,  be  applied  to  Judas,  and  alfo  to  the  rebel- 
lious nation  of   the  Jews  at  large ;  and  therefore, 
as  thefe  words  do  not  intend  their  Reftoration,  fo 
neither  are  they  any  objection  to  it ;  for  St.  Paul 
applies  part  of  the  lxixth  Pfalm  to  the  Jews,  as 
truly  as  St.  Peter  applies  it  to  Judas :  See  Rom. 
x.  9,  1  o.     And   yet  he  fays,  <  I  fay  then,  Have 
they  Humbled,  that  they  mould  fall  ?  God  forbid: 
But  rather,  through  their  fall,  falvation  is  come 
unto  the  Gentiles,  to  provoke  them  to  jealoufy. 
Now,  if   the  fali  of  them  be  the  riches  of   the 
world,  and  the  dimkiiming  of  them  the  riches  of 
the  Gentiles  \  how  much  more  their  fulnefs  ?'  And 
thus,  from  the  1  ith  verfe  to  the  end  of  the  chap- 
ter, goes  on  to  fpeak  of  their  being  again  received, 
reconciled,  and  grafted  again  into  their  own  olive 
tree ;  and  that  their  blindnefs  is  only  for  a  time  : 
1  And  fo  all  Ifrael  (hall  be  faved  :  There  mail  come 
out  of  Sion  a  deliverer,  and  fhall  turn  away  un- 
godlinels  from  Jacob :'  That  God's  covenant,  or 
promife,  is  to  take  their  fins  away ;  that  they  are 
beloved  for  the  fathers  fakes  ;  that  the  gifts  and 
calling   of  God    are  without    repentance;    that, 
therefore,  they  fhall  obtain  mercy  at  laft ;  and  that, 
for  this  very  purpofe,  God  hath  concluded  them 
all  {or  (hut  them  up)  in  unbelief,  that  he  might 

not 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  Ol 

not  only  punilh  them  thereby  for  their  tranfgref- 
fions,  and  alfo,  through  their  unbelief,  caufe  the 
the  Gentiles  to  obtain  mercy  and  falvation ;  but 
alio,  that  he  might  have  mercy  upon  all  thofe  whom 
he  had  thus  fhut  up  in  unbelief,  without  exception. 
See  the  whole  chapter. 

Here,  then,  are  three  defigns,  worthy  of  a  God 
of  infinite  wifdom,  power  and  goodnefs,  in  this  one 
dark    difpenfation,    the  rejection   of  the   Jewifh 

church  and  nation: 1.  That  he  might  puni/h 

them  for  their  iniquity  : 2.  That  others  might 

come  in  their  room,  fland  in  their  office,  and  be 
made  partakers  of  their  privileges  :  and  3.  That 
they  might  be  referved  to  mercy  and  forgivenefs  at 
laft.  And  what  happened  to  a  whole  nation  of 
traitors,  might  happen  to  an  individual  of  that  na- 
tion ;   aid  vice  verfa. 

Friend.  This  is  a  fubject  of  great  importance, 
and  if  you  can  maintain  the  fyflem  you  have  e£« 
poufed,  and  anfwer  the  remaining  objections  that 
may  be  brought  againft  it,  it  will  molt,  certainly 
give  me  pleafure,  and  relieve  my  mind  from  great 
anxiety.  I  am  a  father  of  many  children,  and 
God  knows  the  tears  I  have  (Tied  on  their  account, 
but  could  I  receive  your  views  with  what  pleafure 
mould  I  look  upon  them  !  !  !  But  I  have  many  re- 
maining difficulties  and  objections  ftill  to  pro- 
pofe ;  may  God  preferve  me  from  error  and  falfe 
doctrine,  I  wifh  to  know  what  is  really  the  truth 
in  this  matter,  for  above  all  things  I  dread  decep- 
tion. 

Mimjler.  I  allure  you  my  friend  that  I  mould 
be  as  loth  to  deceive  you,  as  you  are  to  be  deceiv- 
ed, and  had  I  not  the  iurelt  confidence  through  the 
Lord  of  the  truth  and  reality  of  this  molt  glorious 

fyftem, 


92  »IALOGUES    ON    THE 

fyftem,  and  did  I  not  find  the  higheft  fatisfa&ion 
in  it  myfelf,  I  mould  never  prefume  to  hold  it 
forth  to  others.  But  as  I  have  an  engagement  that 
calls  me  elfewhere  juft  now,  I  muft  beg  you  to  ex- 
cufe  me,  hoping  that  in  a  little  time  I  mall  have  an- 
other opportunity  of  hearing  the  remainder  of  your 
objections  •,  and  in  the  mean  time  I  advife  you  to 
fearch  the  fcriptures,  and  pray  God  to  lead  you 
into  all  truth. 


END    OK   THE   SECOND  DIALOGUE, 


DIALOGUF 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION. 


DIALOGUE    III. 


Friend.  ] "  AM  glad  to  meet  with  you,  to  hare 
lome  farther  converfation  upon  the  ve- 
ry important  and  interefting  fubject  of  the  final 
Reftoration.  Since  I  faw  you  laft  I  have  had  op- 
portunity of  hearing  fome  very  capital  objections 
made  againfl  this  fyftem,  which  I  beg  leave  to  ftate 
in  the  plainefl  and  flrongeft  manner. 

Minifler.  Your  franknefs  is  well  pleafing  to  me, 
and  I  am  ready  to  hear  whatever  can  be  urged 
againfl  my  fentiments,  and  will  do  my  endeavour 
to  anfwer  all  reafonable  objections  ;  therefore  pro- 
pole  them  as  loon  as  you  think  proper. 

Friend.  One  grand  objection  that  is  very  gene- 
rally made  againft  the  doctrine  of  the  Reftoration, 
is,  that  it  tends  to  licentioufnefs  \  that  it  is  the  doc- 
trine that  the  ferpent  preached   to  Eve  ;    for  we 
read,  (Gen.  Hi.  4.)  <  And  the  ferpent  faid  unto  the 
woman,  Ye  fhall  not  furely  die  :'  and  that  it  is  a 
doctrine  calculated  to  give  encouragement  to  the 
wicked  to  continue  in  their  evil  ways ;  that  it  is 
*  faying,  Peace,  peace,  when  there  is  no  peace  ;' 
and  that  this  doctrine  is  as  dangerous  as  that  of 
the  wicked  prophetefTes  of  EzekieFs  time,  of  whom 
God  fays,  '  With  lies  ye  have  made  the  heart  of 
the  righteous  fad,  whom  I  have  not  made  fad  ;  and 
ftrengthened  the  hands  of  the  wicked,  that  he 

ihould 


94  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

fhould  not  return  from  his  wicked  way,  by  pr»- 
mifmg  him  life.  They  fay  unto  them  that  defpife  me, 
Jehovah  hath  faid,  Ye  (hall  have  peace  ;  and  they 
fay  unto  every  one  that  walketh  after  the  imagina- 
tion of  his  own  heart,  No  evil  fhall  come  upon  you,' 
Jer.  viii.  n.  Ezek.  xiii.  22.  Jer.  xxiii.  17. 

It  is  faid,  that  it  is  the  nature  of  God  to  lay  the 
higheft  pofTible  reftraint  upon  fin,  and,  therefore, 
he  has  threatened  it  with  eternal,  or  endlefs  punifh- 
ment :  and  this  is  even  found  too  weak  to  prevent 
the  prevailing  of  iniquity.  What  a  flood  of  im- 
piety, therefore,  would  overflow  the  world,  if  it 
fhould  be  generally  believed,  that  after  fome  ages 
of  fuffering,  mankind  fhould  be  reftored  to  fome 
degree  of  happinefs  ?  Would  not  the  reftraints  be 
wholly  taken  off  from  the  lulls  and  paffions  of  the 
wicked,  if  once  this  doctrine  fhould  become  pre- 
valent ?  Will  you  be  fo  kind  as  to  give  a  fair  and 
candid  reply  to  this  objection  ? 

Minifter.  This  objection  is  ftated  with  all  pofli- 
ble  force,  I  fhall,  therefore  endeavour  to  anfwer 
it  as  well  as  I  can  •,  putting  in  this  caveat,  that  if 
I  fhould  not  anfwer  it  to  your  fatisfaction,  do  not 
imagine  that  no  folid  anfwer  can  be  given  ;  but  im- 
pute it  to  my  not  being  fufficiently  matter  of  my 
lubject,  or  not  being  able  to  exprefs  my  mind  fo 
clearly  as  I  could  wifh.  As  this  objection  is  fre- 
quently made,  and  often  ufed,  by  people  who 
mean  well,  but  have  not  confidered  the  fubject 
thoroughly,  I  fhall  be  as  explicit  as  poflibly  I  can 
upon  it. 

I  would  firlt  obferve,  that  the  great  truths,  or 
firlt  principles,  upon  which  the  Reiteration  is 
founded,  and  from  which  it  is  derived  by  natural 
and  eafy  confequences,  are  far  from  tending  to  li- 

centiouihefs : 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  9J 

eentioufnefs  :  But,  in  order  to  make  this  evident, 
it  will  be  proper  here  to  fet  them  down  in  their 
order. 

Firfl  Principles,  upon  "which  the  Do&rine  of  the  final 
and  univerfal  Rejlitution  is  founded* 

I .  God  is  the  univerfal  and  only  creator  of  all : 
contrary  to  the  opinion  of  the  Manichees  of  old, 
who  believed  the  devil  to  be  the  creator  of  mofl, 
if  not  all  vifible  beings  :  The  MuggUtonlansy  of  the 
laff.  century,  and  the  Buchanites  lately,  alTert  nearly 
the  fame  fentiments  ;  contrary  to  Rev.  iv.  n.  Col. 
i.  1 6.  Pfal.  c.  3.  Numb.  xvi.  22.  Ifai.  Ixiv.  8.  Ezek. 
xviii.  4.  Zech.  xii.  1.  and  a  vafl  number  of  other 
Scriptures. 

Now,  who  can  lay,  that  this  noble  thought, 
which  St.  Paul  enlarges  upon  fo  beautifully,  ( Acts, 

xvii.  24 30.)  tends,  in  the  leafl,  to  make 

men  wicked  ?  Does  it  not  tend  to  dignify  and  en- 
noble human  nature,  to  be  told,  that  God  is  our 
Father,  Creator  and  Firft  Caule ;  and  that  we  were 
made  by  his  power,  according  to  his  will,  and  for 
his  pleafure  ;  and  that  the  chief  end  for  which  he 
made  us,  was,  to  glorify  his  name,  and  to  enjoy  him 
forever  ? — as  the  AfTembly's  Catechifm  beautifully 
declares.  This  is  one  of  the  principles  from 
which  God  himfelf  deduces  the  certainty  of  the 
final  end  of  wrath,  as  I  have  obferved  before  : — 
'  For  I  will  not  contend  for  ever,  neither  will  I  be 
always  wroth  :  for  the  fpirit  mould  fail  before  me, 
and  the  fouls  which  I  have  made/  Ifai.  lvii.  16. — 
Thofe  who  venture  to  contradict  their  Maker,  and 
lay,  that  he  will  contend  for  ever,  a  fid  be  always 
wroth ;  ought  to  be  able,  at  leaft,  to  give  as  good 


$5  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

a  reafon  why  he  wilt,  as  he  has  alTigned  why  he 
will  not ;  and  confequently  prove,  that  he  hath 
not  made  all  fouls ;  which  is  the  true  founda- 
tion upon  which  endlefs  mifery  mull  be  founded, 
and  the  only  doctrine  which  is  perfectly  confident 
with  it. 

The  poor  untutored  Indians  in  America,  argued 
(with  a  miflionary  that  was  fent  from  Sweden  to 
convert  them)  from  the  univerfal  providence  of 
God,  that  he,  who  was  fo  kind  a  Father  as  to  pro- 
vide for  their  bodies  all  things  needful,  had  not 
wholly  neglected  their  fouls :  But  this  I  do  not 
inflit  upon,  though,  I  think,  the  argument  has 
weight  in  it  \  and,  certainly,  the  providential  good- 
nels  of  God,  and  his  long-fufFering,  tends  to  lead 
men  to  repentance  :  Rom.  ii.  4.  2  Pet.  iii.  9. 

2.  The  univerfal  benevolence  of  the  Deity,  or  the 
love  of  God  to  his  creatures,  is  one  of  the  firlt 
principles  from  which  the  general  Reftoration  is 
deduced  :  and  who  can  fay,  that  this  leads  to  li- 
centioufnefs  ?  If  thofe  who  believe  that  God  loves 
them,  in  particular,  find  that  confideration  the 
ftrongeit  obligation  on  them  to  love  him  again,  and 
to  obey  his  will ;  by  the  fame  rule,  if  all  the  in- 
dividuals of  the  whole  human  race,  were  to  be- 
lieve that  God  loved  each  one  of  them,  would  not 
the  fame  caufe  produce  the  fame  erfect  ?  And  if  fo, 
can  this  be  charged  as  a  licentious  doctrine,  which 
is  exprefsly  grounded  upon  a  caufe  which  power- 
fully operates  to  produce  holinefs  ?  Is  there  any 
thing  like  argument  in  this  reafoning:  I  know  that 
God  loves  me,  and  feeks  to  do  me  good  -,  there- 
fore, I  muff  hate  him.  What  mould  we  think  of 
a  woman  who  mould  leave  her  hufband,  and  do 
all  in  her  power  againfl  him,  and  mould  be  able 

to 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  97 

to  give  no  better  reafon  for  it  than  the  following  : 
My  hufband  loves  me,  and  I  know  it,  and  he  has 
always  loved  me,  and  always  will ;  and,  therefore, 
I  am  determined  to  hate,  ridicule,  defpife,  and  con- 
temn him,  and  have  left  him  for  this  very  canfe, 
and  am  determined  never  to  love  or  obey  him 
more  ?  Bad  as  human  nature  is,  I  queflion  whe- 
ther fuch  inftances  often  occur.  We  commonly  fay, 
that  love  begets  love  :  €  We  love  him,  becaufe  he 
firft  loved  us  ;'  fays  the  Apoftle,  1  John,  iv.  19. 
Therefore,  the  doctrine  of  God's  univerfal  benevo- 
lence, cannot  lead  to  licentioufnefs,  in  any  light  in 
which  it  can  be  viewed  ;  for,  if  he  really  loves  us, 
he  will  do  all  in  his  power  to  bring  us  to  love  him 
again,  and  to  be  like  him  ;  and  I  am  fure,  the  con- 
fideration  of  his  love  to  us,  goes  as  far  as  moral 
fuafion  can  go,  to  induce  us  to  love  him  again,  nay, 
the  belief  of  it  is  acknowledged  to  be  one  of  the 
ftrongeft  motives  to  obedience ;  and  the  love  of 
God,  Ihed  abroad  in  the  heart,  produces  the  beft 
effects,  and  is  the  moft  powerful  principle,  and 
fpring,  of  good  and  virtuous  actions,  that  we  are 
acquainted  with.  This  being  a  firft  principle, 
from  which  the  univerfal  Reftoration  is  concluded, 
we  are  happy  to  find,  that  *  God  is  love :'  and 
that  he  *  fo  loved  the  world,  as  to  give  his  only 
begotten  Son,  that  whofoever  believeth  in  him, 
mould  not  perifh,  but  have  everlafling  life  :  For, 
God  lent  not  his  Son  into  the  world  to  condemn 
the  world  :  but  that  the  world,  through  him, 
might  be  faved.'  See  1  John,  iv.  16.  St.  John,  hi. 
16,  17.  But  it  is  not  fo  much  my  bufinefs  now  to 
(hew,  that  the  fentiment  is  fcriptural,  as  to  fhew 
that  it  is  not  of  a  dangerous  tendency.  The  fol- 
lowing words,  however,  are  {o  beautiful,  that  I 
E  take 


$S  •  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

take  the  liberty  to  mention  them  : — c  But  thou  hafl: 
mercy  upon  all •,  for  thou  canft  do  all  things,  and 
winkeft  at  the  fins  of  men,  becaufe  they  mould 
amend.  For  thou  loveft  all  the  things  that  are, 
and  abhorred  nothing  which  thou  hafl  made  :  for 
never  wouldeft  thou  have  made  any  thing,  if  thou 
hadft  hated  it,  And  how  could  any  thing  have 
endured,  if  it  had  not  been  thy  will :  or  been  pre- 
ferved,  if  not  called  by  thee  ?  But  thou  fpareft  all ; 
for  they  are  thine,  O  Lord,  thou  lover  of  fouls. 
For  thine  incorruptible  Spirit  is  in  all  things  -.There- 
fore chafleneft  thou  them,  by  little  and  little,  that 
offend,  and  warneft  them,  by  putting  them  in  re- 
membrance wherein  they  have  offended,  that  leav- 
ing their  wickednefs,  they  may  believe  on  thee,  O 
Lord.  For  thy  power  is  the  beginning  of  righte- 
oufnefs ;  and  becaufe  thou  art  the  Lord  of  all,  it 
maketh  thee  to  be  gracious  unto  all.  But  thou,  O 
God,  art  gracious  and  true  :  long-fuffering,  and 
in  mercy  ordering  all  things.  For  if  we  fin,  we 
are  thine,  knowing  thy  power-,  but  we  will  not  fin, 
knowing  that  we  are  counted  thine :'  Wifdom  of 

Solomon,  xi.  23- 26.  xii.    1,  2,   16.  xv.    1,  2. 

*  Jehovah  is  gracious  and  full  of  compafTion,  flow 
to  anger,  and  of  great  mercy.  Jehovah  is  good 
to  all  :  and  his  tender  mercies  are  over  all  his 
works.  All  thy  works  (hall  praife  thee,  O  Jeho- 
vah -,  and  thy  faints  fhall  blefs  thee,'  Pfal.  cxlv. 
8,  9,   ic. 

3.  Another  great  principle,  upon  which  the 
Reftoration  depends,  is,  that  Christ  died  for  all ; 
<  We  fee  Je/us,  who  was  made  a  little  lower  than 
the  angels,  for  the  fuffering  of  death,  crowned 
with  glory  and  honour  •,  that  he,  by  the  grace  of 
God,  ihould  tafte  death  for  every  man/  (or  all) 

Heb. 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  99 

Heb.  ii.  9.  '  If  any  man  fin,  we  have  an  Advo- 
cate with  the  Father,  Jefus  Chriji,  the  righteous  : 
And  he  is  the  propitiation  for  our  fins  ;  and  not 
for  ours  only,  but  alfo  for  the  fins  of  the  whole 
world,'  1  John,  ii.  i,  2.  f  For  there  is  one  God, 
and  one  Mediator  between  God  and  men,  the  Man 
Christ  Jesus  :  who  gave  himfelf  a  ranfom  for 
all,  to  be  teftified  in  due  time,'   i  Tim.  ii.  5,  6. 

I  need  not  multiply  paifages  to  prove  that  Cfirijl 
died  for  all-,  for  though  the  universality  of  his  death 
is  not  exprefsly  aflerted,  in  every  text  where  it  is 
mentioned  that  he  died,  it  mull:  always  be  under- 
itood ;  becaufe  it  is  never  denied  in  any  place,  and 
is  plainly,  and  pointedly  declared  in  thofe  which 

1  have  quoted :  And,  befides,  it  is  evident  that  in 
the  apoftles  time,  the  univerfality  of  the  death  of 
Chriit  was  a  firft  principle,  univerfally  acknow- 
ledged, and,  therefore,  St.  Paul  reafons  from  it 
as  fuch  ;  which  it  would  have  been  highly  prepos- 
terous for  him  to  do,  if  that  had  not  been  the  cafe  : 
As,  for  example,  *  For  the  love  of  Chrijl  con- 
ftraineth  us ;  becaufe  we  thus  judge,  that  if  one 
died  for  all,'  (which  is  not  difputed  by  any,  and 
which  we  know  to  be  a  truth)  '  then  were  all 
dead  :  And  that  he  died  for  all ;  that  they  who 
live,  mould  not  henceforth  live  unto  themfelves, 
but  unto  him  that  died  for  them,  and  rofe  again,' 

2  Cor.  v.  14,  15. 

Friend.  But  have  you  never  heard  it  argued  that 
Cbrifl  did  not  die  for  all,  becaufe  he  did  not  pra* 
for  all? 

Minifier,  I  remember,  when  a  lad,  I  was  fent 

to  a  neighbour's  houfe,  and  overheard  the  good 

man,  the  matter  of  the  family,  read  in  a  book,  after 

this  manner :  <  Chrijl  did  not  die  for  all,  becaufe 

E  2  he 


ICO  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

he  did  not  pray  for  all :  I  pray  for  them  ;  I  pray 
not  for  the  world,  but  for  them  which  thou  haft 
given  me,  for  they  are  thine,'  St.  John,  xvii.  9. 
And  I  then  thought  the  argument  conclufive  :  But 
I  am  now  at  a  lofs  whether  the  author  of  that 
book  meant  to  deceive  his  readers  ;  or,  whether 
he  had  never  read  the  chapter  through  critically  : 
for,  had  he  read  the  20th  verfe,  he  would  have 
found  thefe  words,  which  would  have  overthrown 
his  hypothecs  : — *  Neither  pray  I  for  thefe  alone; 
but  for  them  alfo,  who  (hall  believe  on  me  through 
their  word.'  If  Chrifl  had  prayed  for  all,  in  the 
9th  verfe,  for  whom  he  died,  he  could  not  have 
enlarged  his  prayer  fo  much  in  the  20th  verfe,  as 
to  take  in  not  them  only,  but  all  that  fhould  be- 
lieve on  him  through  their  word  :  Neither  does  he 
ftop  here,  but  goes  on  to  pray  for  thole  that  believe, 
in  thefe  words  :  f  That  they  all  may  be  one  ;  as 
thou,  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee  \  that  they 
alfo  may  be  one  in  us  :'  And,  why  is  all  this  uni- 
ty prayed  for  among  believers  ?  Surely,  it  hath 
never  been  accomplifhed  ;  but  it  fhall  be,  for  this 
great  and  admirable  purpofe ;  viz.  (  That  the 
world  may  believe  that  thou  haft  lent  me.  And 
the'  glory  which  thou  gaveft  me,  I  have  given 
them ;  that  they  may  be  one,  even  as  we  are  one  : 
I  in  them,  and  thou  in  me  ;  that  they  may  be 
made  perfect  in  one,  and  that  the  world  may  know 
that  thou  haft  fent  me,  and  haft  loved  them,  as 
thou  haft  loved  me,'  vtrfes  21,  22,  23. 

Friend.  But  when  fhall  the  world  believe,  and 
know  that  Chrijl  is  the  Sent  of  God  ? 

Minijler.  When  all  that  believe  fhall  be  one,  as 
the  Father  and  the  Son  are  one  :  When  the  great 
marriage  of  the  Lamb  fhall  be  celebrated,  and  his 

Bride 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  10  I 

Bride  (hall  be  one,  in  the  bond  of  univerfal  love  and 
fellowship,  as  the  Father  and  Son  now  are  :  When 
the  Church  (hall  be  perfected  in  one  )  (hall  dwell 
in  love,  and  dwell  in  God,  as  the  Father  dwells  in- 
the  Son,  and  the  Son  in  the  Father :  When  Zion's 
watchmen  (hall  fee  eye  to  eye  :  Wrhen  all  believers 
(hall  fpeak  the  fame  thing ;  when  there  (hall  be  no 
more  divifions  among  them  ;  when  they  (hall  be 
perfectly  joined  together  in  the  fame  mind,  and  in 
the  fame  judgment. 

This  was  the  ftate  that  St.  Paul  befought  the 
Corinthians  to  prefs  after,  and  wimed  them  to  at- 
tain ;  but  he  had  the  mortification  to  fee  them  fall 
fhort  of  it,  as  all  the  Chriftian  churches  have,  from 
that  day  to  this.  But  when  Chrijl  (hall  give  that 
glory  and  honour  to  his  Bride,  which  the  Father 
gave  to  him,  and  (hall  thus  unite  her  to  himfelf, 
in  an  indifToluble  union,  and  the  feveral  members 
of  his  body,  the  Church,  (hall  be  as  much  united 
one  to  another,  as  the  members  of  the  natural 
body  are  ;  or,  to  exprefs  it  in  his  own  words,  *  As 
thou,  Father,  art  in  me,  and  /  in  thee  /  When 
thus  the  Church  (hall  be  one,  in  fpirit,  love,  de- 
fign,  judgment,  &c.  as  the  Father  and  Son  are  ; 
then  (hall  the  world  believe,  and  believing,  have 
life  ;  then  (hall  the  world  know  him,  whom  to 
know  is  life  eternal  :  See  verfes  2  and  3.  But  as 
this  great  caufe  has  never  yet  exifted,  the  effeB  has 
not  yet  followed ;  but  when  xhcjirjl  (hall  be,  the 
lajl  (hall  take  place  in  confequence. 

The  petitions  in  that  mod  excellent  prayer,  that 
may,  with  great  propriety,  be  called  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  may  be  divided  into  four  clafles  :  1.  For 
himfelf,  verfes    ill:  and  5th  :  2.  For  his  apoflles, 

9 19:  3.  For  them  that  (hould  believe,  through 

E  3  their 


102  DTALOGUES    ON   T*1E 

their  word,  verfes  20,  21,  22,  23:  And,  4.  for 
the  world,  verfes  21,23;  as  I  have  jufl  obferved, 
and  need  not  add  any  more  upon  fo  plain  a  mat- 
ter. 

Friend.  Proceed,  if  you  pleafe,  to  mew,  that  the 
doctrine  of  the  univcrfality  of  the  death  of  Chrift 
does  not  lead  to  licentioufnefs. 

Minifter.  It  is  evident  that  it  doth  not •,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  it  is  the  flrongeft  motive  to  all  who 
believe  it,  to  love  and  live  to  him  who  died  for 
them,  and  rofe  again  :  We  are  not  our  own,  but  are 
bought  with  a  price ;  therefore,  we  are  exhorted  not 
to  be  thefervants  of  fin,  (laves  to  our  paffions,  and 
fervants  to  men  :  but  to  glorify  God  in  our  bo- 
dies and  rpirits,  which  are  his  :  and  the  apoflle  be- 
feeches  us,  by  the  mercies  of  God,  to  prefent  our 
bodies  a  living  facrifice,  holy,  acceptable  unto 
God  ;  which  is  our  reafonable  fervice.  Foraf- 
much,  as  we  know  that  we  were  not  redeemed 
with  corruptible  things,  as  filver  and  gold  ;  but 
with  the  precious  blood  of  Chrift)  as  of  a  Lamb 
without  blemifh,  and  without  fpot;  See  2  Cor.  v.. 
15,  Rom.  vi.  12,  13.  1  Cor.  vii.  23.  vi.  19,  20. 
Rom.  xii.  1.   1  Peter,  i.  18,  19. 

What  a  horrid  thought  would  it  be,  that  Chrift 
mould  be  the  minifter  of  fin,  and  that  his  blood- 
fhedding  mould  caufe  wickednefs  to  abound  ? 
The  love  of  God,  in  giving  his  Son  to  die,  is 
enough  to  move  an  heart  of  flone  •,  '  For  when 
we  were  yet  without  ftrength,  in  due  time,  Chrift 
died  for  the  ungodly  :  for,  fcarcely  for  a  righte- 
ous man  will  one  die  ;  yet,  peradventure,  for  a 
good  (kind,  benevolent,  generous)  man,  fome 
would  even  dare  to  die.  But  God  commendeth 
bis  love  towards  us,  in  that,  while  we  were  yet 

Tinners, 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  IO3 

finners,  Chrift  died  for  us.  Much  more,  being 
now  juftified  through  his  blood,  we  fhall  be  laved 
from  wrath  through  him.  For  if  when  we  were 
enemies,  we  were  reconciled  to  God  by  the  death 
of  his  Son;  much  more,  being  reconciled,  v/e  {hall 
be  fared  by  his  life,'  Rom.  v.  6 10. 

Here  the  death  of  the  Lord  Jefus  is  laid  as  the 
ground,  and  the  falvation  of  men  inferred  from  it, 
with  the  greateft  pofllble  certainty  \  yet,  will  any 
one  fay,  that  becaufe  Chrift  hath  died  for  him, 
therefore  he  will  indulge  himfelf  in  fin  ?  God  for- 
bid. Some  fay  that  if  they  believed  this  doctrine, 
they  would  live  in  fin,  and  indulge  themfelves  in 
their  lufts  and  paftions  :  but  then  it  may  be  ob- 
ferved,  that  thofe  who  fay  fo  are  its  enemies,  and 
thofe  who  oppofe  the  view,  and  not  thofe  who 
receive  it. 

There  is  fomething  fo  brutifh  and  unaccounta- 
ble in  fuch  difpofitions,  as  would  lead  men  to 
hate  their  bed  friends,  merely  becaufe  they  are  fo  ; 
that  would  lead  them  to  hate  God,  becaufe  he 
loved  them  ;  and  defpife  Chrift %  merely  becaufe 
he  died  for  them  •,  that,  for  the  honour  of  human 
nature,  I  would  hope,  thefe  inftances  are  rare. 
But  to  the  point.  I  have  converfed  with  many 
who  believed  that  Chrift  died  for  them  in  particu- 
lar ;  and  yet  I  never  heard  them  fay,  that  they 
hated  him  for  it ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  that  they 
loved  him  exceedingly.  Now,  is  not  the  fame 
caufe  likely  to  produce  the  fame  effect  ?  If  a  thou- 
fand  perfons,  for  inftance,  all  believing  that  Chrift 
died  for  them,  find  their  hearts  conftrained  to  love 
him  for  it,  would  it  not  have  the  fame  effect  upon 
ten  thouland,  ten  millions,  or  ten  millions  of  mil- 
lions ?  And  if  it  would  caufe  licentioufnefs  to 
E  4  abound 


104  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

abound  in  the  world,  to  preach  that  Chrlft  died  for 
all,  if  it  was  univerfally  believed  ;  by  the  fame 
rule  it  mult,  caufe  it  to  prevail,  in  a  lefter  degree, 
to  preach  that  he  died  for  a  fmall  part,  at  leaft,  a- 
mong  thofe  who  believe  themfelves  to  be  of  the 
the  number  ;  and,  therefore,  it  muft  not  be  preach- 
ed at  all,  that  he  died  for  any  ?  Who  can  deny  the 
confequence  ?  It  feems  to  be  evident,  that  Chrijl 
has  done  and  fufFered  too  much  for  thofe  that  he 
died  for,  to  lofe  them  finally  :  and  thus  the  uni- 
verfal  Reftoration  {lands  connected  neceiTarily  with 
the  univerfality  of  the  death  of  Chrijl^  and  is  de- 
duced therefrom,  in  the  eafieft  manner  ;  therefore, 
the  doctrine  of  the  former  cannot  tend  to  licenti- 
oufhefs,  as  it  ftands  upon  the  ground  of  the  latter, 
which  hath  been  demonftrated  to  have  no  fuch 
tendency. 

4.  Another  principle  upon  which  the  univerfal 
doctrine  depends,  is,  the  unchangeablenefs  of  God : 
Whom  he  loves  once,  he  always  loves;  he  loved 
his  creatures  when  he  made  them,  as  none  can 
well  deny  •,  their  fins  he  never  loved,  nor  ever 
will ;  he  hath  declared,  that  he  loved  us  when 
Tinners,  but  never  as  finners.  His  eternal  and 
conftant  hatred  of  all  fin,  and  his  unchangeable 
love  of  all  his  creatures,  are  of  the  nature  of  pri- 
mary truths  •,  from  which  the  doctrine  of  the  ge- 
neral Reftoration  may  be  eafily  and  plainly  infer- 
red. In  this  view  we  may  under ftand  thofe  ma- 
ny dreadful  threatenings  and  gracious  promifes, 
made  to  the  fame  people  and  perfons :  Both  mail 
be  fulfilled  ;  the  firft,  while  they  continue  as 
rebels,  which  are  defigned  to  humble  and  iubdue 
them ;  the  Lift,  when  they  fhall  have  accepted 
of  the   punifhmcnt  of  their  iniquity  -,  when  their 

uncir- 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  105 

uncircumcifed  hearts  are  humbled,  when  their 
ftubborn  knees  mall  bow  to  Jehovah,  and  their 
former  rebellious  tongues  (hall  fwear  allegiance 
to  him. 

Does  this  idea  lead  to  licentioufnefs,  that  God 
hates  fin,  and  determines  to  purfue  it  to  entire  de- 
ftrucYion,  and  never  to  put  up  his  fword,  fo  long  as 
there  is  a  rebel  in  the  univerfe  ;  yet,  at  the  lame 
time,  has  no  pofitive  hatred  to  the  fouls  which  he 
has  made,  but  only  wifhes  them  to  return  to  or- 
der ? — This  idea  appears  to  me,  equally  to  check 
prefumption  and  defpair ;  and  tends  to  put  an 
end  to  licentioufnefs,  rather  than  to  encourage  it : 
For,  if  rebels  are  affured  that  their  rightful  fove- 
reign  hates  them,  and  will  never  fuffer  them  to  be 
reconciled  to  him,  it  naturally  caufes  them  to 
fight  with  tenfold  rage,  as  all  warriors  will  teftify  ; 
as,  on  the  other  hand,  if  they  believe  he  is  too 
weak,  or  undetermined,  to  conquer  them,  they 
will  be  prefumptuous,  and  continue  the  war.  It 
cannot,  therefore,  be  affirmed,  by  any  perfons  of 
reafbn,  that  the  declaration  that  God  will  deltroy 
fin,  tends  to  promote  it  •,  or,  that  his  love  of  order, 
and  hatred  of  evil,  being  compatible  with  his 
love  to  the  creatures  he  has  made,  is  a  doftrine 
that  encourages  men  to  rebel ;  the  contrary  is  evi- 
dent :  and  yet  thefe  are  the  very  grounds  of  the 
univerfal  Reftoration  ;  which  cannot,  therefore, 
be  licentious. 

5.  Another  of  the  firft  principles  of  the  Reftora- 
tion, is,  the  immutability  of  Goris  coanfels  ;  which 
he  harh  c  on firmed  by  an  oath,  «  That  by  two  Im- 
mutable things,  (i>/'r:.his  word  and  oath)  in  which 
it  was  .mpoflible  for  Gon  to  lie,  we  might  have  a 
ftrong  confolation,  who  have  fled  for  refuge,  to 
E  5  lay 


I06  DIALOGUES   ON   THE 

lay  hold  upon  the  hope  fet  before  us,'  Heb.  vi. 
17,  1 8.  '  God  hath  abounded  towards  us  in  all 
wifdom  and  prudence,  having  made  known  unto 
lis  the  myftery  of  his  will,  according  to  his  good 
pleafure,  which  he  hath  purpofed  in  himfelf. 
That  in  the  difpenfation  of  the  fulnefs  of  times, 
he  might  gather  together  (or  rehead)  in  one,  all 
things  in  Chri/l,  both  which  are  in  heaven,  and 
which  are  on  earth  :  even  in  him  :  in  whom  we 
have  obtained  an  inheritance,  being  predeftinated 
according  to  the  pur  pole  of  him  who  worketh  all 
things  according  to  the  counfel  of  his  own  will/ 
Ephef.  i.  8,  9,  10,  ii.  God  is  our  Saviour,  (or 
Soterosy  Reftorer)  who  will  have  all  men  to  be 
faved,  (fothenai)  reftored)  and  to  come  unto  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth,'  1  Tim.  ii.  3,  4.  This  is 
the  will  and  counfel  of  that  God,  who  «  doeth 
according  to  his  will  in  the  armies  of  heaven,  and 
and  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  •,  and 
none  can  flay  his  hand,  or  fay  unto  him,  What 
doeft  thou  ?'  Dan.  iv.  35.  He  hath  iworn  by 
himfelf,  the  word  is  gone  out  of  his  mouth  in  righ- 
teoufnefs,  and  fhall  not  return,  that  unto  him 
*  every  knee  fhall  bow,  every  tongue  fhall  fwear,' 
Ifai.  xlv.  23.  The  counfel  of  God  fhall  fland  ;  he 
will  perforin  his  pleafure,  notwithftanding  all  the 
oppofition  that  men  can  make  :  *  God  is  not  a  man, 
tnat  he  fhould  lie,  neither  the  fon  of  man,  that  he 
fhould  repent :  Hath  he  laid,  and  fhall  he  not  do 
it  ?  or,  hath  he  fpoken,  and  fhall  he  not  make  it 
good*'  Numb,  xxiii.  19.  If  God  will  have  all 
men  to  be  faved,  or  reftored,  and  to  come  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  if  it  is  his  good  plea- 
fure, which  he  hath  purpofed  in  himfelf,  in  the 
difpenfation  of  the  fulnefs  of  times,  to  rehead  all 

•thing* 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  IQJ 

things  in  Ckrift,  both  in  heaven  and  on  earth  ;  if 
he  hath  {worn,  that  unto  him  every  knee  fliall 
bow,  and  every  tongue  mall  fwear ;  and  if  he 
worketh  all  things  after  the  couniei  of  his  own 
will,  and  is  determined  to  perform  all  his  pleafure, 
which  he  is  able  to  do ;  and  with  him  nothing 
that  he  pleaies  is  impoffible  :  I  fay,  if  all  thcie 
things  are  true,  (as  who,  that  believes  the  Scrip- 
tures, can  deny?)  then,  is  not  the  doctrine  of  the 
Reftoration  true  ?  And  who  will  venture  to  charge 
that  with  licentioufnefs,  which  God,  in  the  couniei 
of  his  will,  hath  purpofed,  and  is  determined  to 
perform  ?  We  know,  the  will  of  God  is  a  will  to 
all  goodnefs,  and  that  he  cannot  do  any  thing  un- 
juit,  or  contrary  to  his  holy  nature,  or  inconfifr,- 
ent  with  his  plan  of  moral  government,  or  that 
fhall  tend  to  promote  rebellion ;  therefore,  if  God 
had  feen  that  this  great  work  had  been,  in  any  re- 
fpect,  injurious  to  his  perfections,  character,  go- 
vernment, &c.  he  would  not  have  propofed  it  5 
and  if  he  had  forefeen  that  the  knowledge  of  it 
would  have  been  hurtful  to  mankind,  he  would 
not  have  revealed  it :  But  fince  he  hath  done  both, 
we  may  certainly  argue,  that  it  is  not  a  licentious 
doctrine  to  declare,  that  God  will  finally  make  all 
his  intelligent  creatures  happy ;  by  making  them 
all  his  fubjects,  by  destroying  their  fins,  and  mak- 
ing them  holy,  in  a  way  perfectly  confident  with 
all  his  perfections  and  attributes  \  without  doing 
the  leaft  injury  to  his  character,  or  rendering  his 
moral  government  weak,  or  making  any  of  his 
words  void,  whether  threarenings  or  promifes, 
or  in  the  leaft  fecting  afide  the  Sanctions  of  his  law 
or  gofpel,  or  a  future  ftate  of  rewards  and  pu- 
niihments ;    without  derogating  at   all  from  the 

glory 


108  DIALOGUES   ON    THE 

glory  of  the  Mediator,  but  rather  exalting  it  to 
the  higheft  poflible  pitch  ;  without  faddening  the 
hearts  of  the  righteous,  or  diminifhing,  in  the 
leaft,  from  the  happinefs  of  Heaven,  but  rather 
caufing  it  to  increafe-,  for  if  there  is  joy  in  Heaven 
over  one  finner  that  repenteth,  there  mult  be  more 
over  many,  in  exact  proportion  -,  and  as  God  will 
certainly  give  the  greateft  poflible  joy  to  his  chofen, 
and  there  is  no  doubt  but  it  will  receive  addition 
from  every  one  that  is  ieftored,  or  brought  home 
to  himfelf  *,  therefore,  it  can  only  be  brought  to 
its  higheft  poflible  pitch  by  the  univerfal  Repara- 
tion :  which  doctrine  cannot,  therefore,  be  licenti- 
ous, as  God  has  appointed  and  revealed  it,  and  all 
holy  beings  (except  ibme  weak  good  men  on  earth) 
rejoice  therein  exceedingly. 

6.  Another  of  the  principles  on  which  the  gene- 
ral Rejioration  is  founded,  is,  that  God  hath  given 
all  things  into  the  hand  of  Chrift,  who  hath  declar- 
ed, that  it  is  the  Father' 's  ivill>  that  of  all  that  he  gave 
hi?n,  hcffjouldlofe  nothing :  and  that  power  was  giv- 
en him  over  all,  that  he  fhould  give  the  knowledge 
of  God,  even  eternal  life,  to  all  that  the  Father  had 
given  him  ;  and  that  ally  without  exception,  whom 
the  Father  hath  given,  mail  come  in  fuch  a  man- 
ner as  not  to  be  caft  out  :  But  as  all  thefe  Scrip- 
tures have  been  recited,  and  reafoned  upon  before, 
I  mail  only  now  obferve,  that  as  God  the  Father 
hath  given  all  things  to  Christ,  and  as  he  hath 
engaged  to  brings//  back,  without  exception,  and 
hath  both  will  and  power  to  perform  this  work, 
and  came  into  the  world  on  purpofe  to  accomplifh 
it,  it  muft,  of  confequcnce,  be  finally  performed; 
yet,  it  cannot  tend  to  licentioufnefs,  or  the  God  of 
Heaven,  and  the  Lord  Jefus  Ckri/l,  would  never 

have 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  IOp 

have  planned  it,  approved  of  it,  or  fought  to  ex- 
ecute it. 

Many  more  firft  principles,  on  which  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Reftorat'wi  is  founded,  might  be  menti- 
oned, and  fhewn  to  be  far  from  tending  to  licenti- 
oufnefs :  but  I  fhall  mention  but  one  more ;  and 
that  is — The  Scriptures  mufl  be  fulfilled ;  the  Scrip- 
tures cannot  be  broken  :  None  of  the  words  of  God 
can  fail  of  being  accomplished ;  and  he  hath  not 
only  denounced  dreadful  threatnings,  but  made 
many  gracious  promifes  to  the  fame  people  :  Thefe 
cannot  be  fulfilled  together ;  and,  if  there  is  no 
truth  in  the  Reftoration,  I  cannot  fee  how  the  lat- 
ter will  ever  be  fulfilled  at  all  \  and  if  fins  are  not 
punifhed  in  the  perfons  who  commit  them,  I  am 
equally  at  a  lofs  whatfenfeor  truth  there  can  be  in 
the  former.  It  would  be  a  great  talk  to  collect  all 
the  texts  which  juftify  the  remark, that  threatenings 
and  promifes  belong  to  the  fame  people  in  differ- 
ent periods,  fome  fpecimens  of  which  have  been 
given  in  the  courfe  of  thefe  dialogues.  Now,  it 
cannot  lead  to  licentioufnefs,  to  fuppofe  that  the 
Scriptures  fhall  all  be  fulfilled  ;  but  it  mult  lead 
to  infidelity,  and  all  kinds  of  evil,  to  fuppofe 
the  contrary. 

Thefe  are  the  firft  principles  upon  which  the 
doctrine  of  the  Reftoration  ftands,  and  by  which  it 
is  fupported  ;  and  as  thefe  have  all  been  confider- 
ed,  and  proved  to  have  no  tendency  to  encourage 
fin,  feparately,  much  lefs  can  they  have  any  fuch 
tendency,  jointly  ;  and  then  it  evidently  follows, 
that  a  doctrine  which  feems  neceffarily  deduced, 
or  inferred  by  undeniable  confequenres,  from  all 
thefe  confiderations  united,  cannot  be  falfe,  or  have 
any  evil  tendency. 

But 


119  DIALOGUES  ON  THE 

But  I  ftiall  next  proceed  to  mew,  that  all  true, 
experimental,  and  practical  religion,  feems  fo  con- 
fident with  the  univerfal  Rejloration,  that  it  may  be 
reckoned  a  wonder,  that  all  who  have  tailed  that 
the  Lord  is  gracious,  and  have  diligently  pracYifed 
his  commands,  have  not,  in  all  ages,  been  fully 
convinced  of  the  truth  of  it. 

Friend.  Is  it  pofTible  that  you  can  do  this  ?  If  fo, 
I  hope  your  realbning  will  be  attended  to ;  and  I 
muft  confefs,  that  you  have  cleared  your  way  fo 
well,  by  confidering  the  firft  principles  of  the  doc- 
trine, and  (hewing  that  they  are  very  far  from 
tending  to  licentioufnefs,  that  I  am  half  inclined  to 
think  you  will  be  able  to  anfwer  this  objection, 
formidable  as  it  has  been  confidered  hitherto. 

Minifter.  As  I  trufl  you  have  been  made  ac- 
quainted with  experimental  religion,  I  need  only 
to  appeal  to  your  own  experience,  for  the  truth  of 
what  I  advance  j  and  I  am  apt  to  think,  if  you 
will  anfwer  me  candidly,  to  a  few  queftions,  you 
fAuil  acknowledge  either  that  the  Reftoration  is 
true,  or  that  your  experience  is  falfe. 

Friend.  I  am  willing  to  give  you  as  plain  and 
candid  anfwers  as  I  can  ;  for  it  will  be  of  no  ufe  to 
deny  what  the  Lord  has  done  for  my  foul. 

Minifter.  Let  me  then  afk  you,  in  the  firft  place, 
Did  you  not  fee  yourfelf  loft  and  undone  ;  and 
that  you  were  vile  before  God,  unworthy  of  his 
mercy,  and  totally  unable  to  deliver  yourfelf  from 
your  fin  and  mifery  ? 

Friend.  I  certainly  did ;  and  I  was  fometimes 
ready  to  think  there  was  hardly  fuch  a  finner  on 
earth  as  myfelf,  all  circumftanccs  confidered  •,  for 
I  had  finned  againft  fuch  light   and  love,  that  I 

thought 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATIONS  HI 

thought  all  the  world  might  be  forgiven  fooner 
than  myfelf. 

Minijler.  And  were  you  not  brought  by  the 
power  of  God,  to  refign  yourfelf  into  his  hands, 
without  referve,  to  do  with  you,  and  difpofe  of 
you,  according  to  his  will  and  plealure;  being  con- 
vinced, that  he  neither  would  nor  could  do  you 
any  injuftice  ? 

Friend.  O  yes ;  and  then  I  found  peace ;  my 
rebellion  againfl  God  ceafed  ;  I  looked  upon  him 
quite  different  from  what  I  did  before  ;  I  faw  that 
he  was  wholly  right  and  jufl,  and  that  I  was 
entirely  to  blame  :  my  murmu rings  againfl  him 
ceafed  ;  I  viewed  him  as  fuch  a  holy,  good,  mer- 
ciful, and  yet  righteous  God,  that  I  could  trufl 
my  foul  in  his  hands,  with  the  moll  entire  fatis- 
facTion. 

Minifer.  And  when  Chijl  was  revealed  to  you 
as  a  Saviour,  how  did  he  appear  ? 

Friend.  As  one  able  and  mighty  to  fave,  even  to 
the  uttermofl ;  and  I  thought  there  was  not  only  a 
fufficiency  in  him  for  me,  the  vilefl  of  all,  but  for 
the  whole  world,  yea,  for  a  thoufand  worlds,  had 
there  been  fo  many.  His  blood  feemed  to  me  fo 
precious,  his  obedience  and  fufferings  fo  meritori- 
ous, his  power  fo  great,  his  love  fo  rich,  bound- 
lefs,  and  free,  that  I  was  overcome  with  the  trans- 
porting view  :  and  as  I  faw  in  him  a  fulnefs  for  all, 
fo  I  found  in  him  an  infinite  willingnefs  to  fave 
all ;  for  how  could  I  think  otherwife  ?  I  knew  my- 
felf to  be  moll  unworthy,  and  that  he  had  graci- 
oufly  pitied  me :  I  beheld  his  love,  like  a  river, 
flowing  down  to  me  as  free  as  water  :  and  I  was 
amazed  that  I  had  not  beheld  it  before,  in  the  fame 
light.     I  faw,  that  the  love  of  God  to  me,  did  not 

now 


112  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

now  begin,  but  was  now  manifefled  to  my  foul.  I 
faw  that  there  was  no  change  in  God,  but  all  in 
myfelf.  Thofe  words  were  precious  to  my  heart 
at  that  time  :  '  Yea,  I  have  loved  thee  with  an 
everlafting  love ;  therefore  with  loving  kindnefs 
have  I  drawn  thee/  Jer.  xxxi.  3.  As  alfo  thefe  : 
*Son  be  of  good  cheer  :  thy  fins  be  forgiven  thee/ 
St.  Matth.  ix.  2. 

Minifler.  You  have  brought  my  own  experience 
to  my  mind  : — It  pleafed  God,  by  an  incident  too 
trifling  to  mention,  to  bring  me  to  feek  earneftly 
for  an  unfading  treafure  ;  and,  by  a  train  of  cir- 
cumftances,  fixed  the  concern  deeply  upon  my 
mind  •,  and  I  laboured  night  and  day,  but  could 
obtain  no  reft,  till  one  morning — a  time  never  to 
be  forgotten  ! — as  I  was  walking  on  a  journey,  un- 
der great  diftrefs,  and  when  deliverance  feemed 
farther  from  me  than  ever,  all  at  once,  I  was 
brought  to  refign  my  foul  into  the  hands  of  God, 
and  thus  I  expreffed  myfelf :  <  Lord,  here  I  am  : 
a  poor  helplefs  finner :  I  refign  myfelf  into  thine 
hands  ;  take  me,  and  deal  with  me,  juft  as  thou 
plealeft  :  I  know  thou  canft  do  me  no  injuitice/ 
Immediately  thefe  words  came  into  my  mind,  with 
great  power  and  fweetnefs :  '  In  an  acceptable  time 
have  I  heard  thee;  and  in  a  day  of  falvation  have 
I  hdped  thee/  Ifai.  xlix.  8.  and  t  had  then  fuch  a 
view  of  Christ,  as  made  me  to  cry  out  •  Glory 
to  God  in  the  high  eft  !  This  is  falvation  ;  I  know 
this  is  falvation  !'  Then  thofe  paffages  which  you 
have  mentioned,  came  into  my  mind  with  great 
enr-rgy  ;  and  I  faw  the  fulneis,  fufficiency,  and  wil- 
lingnefs  of  Christ  tofave  me,  and  all  men,  in  fuch 
a  manner  as  conftraim  I  me  to  venture  my  foul  into 
his  arms  *,  and  it  I  had  had  ten  thouland  fouls,  I 

could 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  1 13 

could  have  milled  them  all  in  his  hands.  And,  O 
how  did  I  long,  that  every  foul  of  Adam's  race 
might  come  to  know  the  love  of  God  in  Christ 
Jesus  !  And  I  thought,  I  could  not  be  willing  to 
live  any  longeron  earth,  unlefs  it  might  pleafe  God 
to  make  me  ufeful  to  my  fellow-creatures. 

*   What  peaceful  hours  I  then  enjoy' 'd  ! 

1  How  fiueet  their  memry  fill  I 
(  But  they  have  left  an  aching  void 

*  The  world  can  never  fill? 

This  is  a  little  abflract  of  what  God  did  then 
gracioufly  teach  me  by  his  Spirit  *,  but  I  had  been 
brought  up  in  the  particular  fyflem,  and  in  the 
Courfe  of  a  few  years  came  to  be  fo  firmly  attach- 
ed to  it,  as  to  refufe,  in  my  preaching,  to  make  ge- 
neral invitations  to  mankind  at  large  ;  rightly  rea- 
foning  with  myfelf,  that  if  provifion  was  only 
made  for  a  fmall  part,  I  had  no  warrant  to  call  or 
invite  the  whole  to  come  and  partake  ;  and  there- 
fore only  prefled  the  duty  on  fuch  and  fuch  charac- 
ters, as  hungry,  thiiyly,  weary,  heavy-laden,  fuch 
as  were  without  money,  fenfible  finners,  Sec.  all  of 
which  I  concluded  to  be  of  the  eleel,  becaufe  I 
judged  the  Spirit  had  begun  to  operate  favingly  up- 
on their  hearts  ;  and  that  to  thefe,  and  thefe  only, 
the  Scriptures  directed  invitations  to  be  made ;  ne- 
ver considering  that  text — *  Hearken  unto  me,  ye 
ftout-hearted,  that  are  far  from  righteoufnefs.  I 
bring  near  my  righteoufnefs  ;  and  it  mall  not  be 
far  off,  and  my  fhlvation  mail  not  tarry/  Ifa.  xlvi. 
12,  13.  During  the  time  that  I  remained  in  this 
clofe-hearted  fyftem,  labouring  with  all  my  might 
to  maintain  it,  I   chanced  to  come  to  a  houfe, 

where, 


114  DIALOGUES   ON   THE 

where,  as  far  as  I  can  judge,  was  a  very  fenfible 
and  pious  young  woman,  whom  I  never  faw  be- 
fore or  fince  :  She  gave  a  very  judicious  account 
of  the  work  of  grace  upon  her  heart :  but  when 
flie  came  to  that  part,  where  (he  faid  flic  beheld  an 
infinite  fulnefs  in  Christ  for  all  the  world,  I  in- 
terrupted her,  and  told  her,  That  could  not  be ; 
for  there  was  no  provifion  made  for  all,  and  there- 
fore it  was  impofiible  that  ilie  could  have  any  fuch 
difcoveries  made  to  her  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  This 
Unfilled  upon,  according  to  my  fyflem,  contrary 
to  my  experimental  knowledge  •,  (O  the  mifchiefs 
of  bigotry,  prejudice,  and  vain  attachment  to  fyf- 
tem!)  fhe,  on  the  contrary,  maintained,  that  fhe 
clearly  viewed  matters  in  that  light ;  and  that  fhe 
certainly  was  taught  to  believe,  that  in  Chrift 
there  was  a  fulnefs  and  freeneis  for  all  :  This  1 
denied  •,  and  fhe  was  thereby  prevented  from  finifli- 
ing  what  fhe  had  begun.  I  can  never  forgive  my- 
felf,  for  the  oppofition  I  made  to  what  I  knew  to 
be  truth  by  experience  -,  and  as  I  did  not  enquire 
the  name  of  the  perfon,  I  have  had  no  opportunity 
of  making  a  recantation  by  letter,  as  I  ought  to 
have  done*,  and  having  never  been  in  the  place 
fince,  and  it  being  highly  improbable  that  ever  I 
Ihall  again,  I  feel  myfelf  extremely  hurt,  whenever 
I  think  of  it. 

Friend.  I  can  but  admire  the  agreement  between 
us  in  matters  of  experience  ;  for  I  found  the  fame 
difpofitions  of  mind  that  you  mentioned,  when  it 
pleafed  God  to  reveal  his  Son  in  me. 

Mimjlcr.  I  never  found  an  experienced  Chrifti- 
an  in  my  life,  but  would  give  much  the  fame  ac- 
count, provided  that  his  fyflem  was  not  in  fight ; 
and  I  have  found  fome,  that  though  they  were  vi- 
olently 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  IIJ 

olently  attached  to  the  contrary  fyftem,  and  knew 
my  intention  in  afking  the  queftions  ;  yet  anfwer- 
ed  the  following  affirmatively. 

Did  you  not  fee  and  feel  yourfelves  the  vileft  of 
finners  ? 

Did  yon  not  view  the  love  of  God  infinitely  full, 
free  and  unmerited  ? 

Did  you  not  behold  in  Chri/}  an  infinite  fulnefs, 
fufficiency,  and  willingnefs,  to  fave  all,  without 
exception  ? 

Did  you  not  love  all,  and  wifh  that  all  might 
come  and  partake  of  his  grace  ? 

Did  you  net  earneftly  defire  the  falvation  of  all, 
not  only  of  your  family,  friends,  neighbours,  and 
nation  ;  but  alfo  of  your  enemies,  and  of  all  man- 
kind  ?  Could  you  not  embrace  the  whole  human 
race  in  the  arms  of  benevolence  ? 

Did  you  not  find  it  in  your  heart  to  pray  for  the 
falvation  of  all  mankind,  as  for  your  own  ? 

If  you  had  as  much  power  as  good-will,  would 
you  not  bring  all  to  bow  to  the  fceptre  of 
grace,  and  to  be  reconciled  to  God  through  Jefus 
Lhrljl  f 

Friend.  I  do  not  fee  how  an  experienced  perfon 
can  refufe  to  fay  Yes,  to  all  thefe  queftions  5  they 
are  fo  agreeable  to  the  very  tempers  of  the  new- 
born foul ;  and,  I  am  fure,  I  found  them  in  my 
heart,  at  the  very  time  when  I  firft  tailed  of  the 
love  of  God. 

Mhujler.  Well  then,  my  friend,  let  me  afk  you, 
From  whence  did  thefe  tempers  and  difpofitions 
proceed  ? 

Friend.  To  be  candid,  I  think  they  were  given 
me  from  above,  and  came  down  from  the  Father 
of  lights,  from  whence  every  good  and  perfect 

gift 


Il6  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

gift  cometh  ;  and  I  am  the  mere  apt  to  think  fo, 
becaufe  I  found  contrary  difpofitions  in  my  heart 
before  -,  and  the  more  I  am  fenfibte  of  the  forgiv- 
ing love  of  God,  the  more  I  find  thefe  affections 
which  you  have  defcribed,  and  thefe  defires  for  the 
good  of  others. 

Minijler.  Then  let  me  afk  you,  Can  a  fmall  drop 
be  larger  than  the  unfathomed  abyfs  and  ocean  of 
Love  ?  Have  you  more  compaffion  towards  your 
fellow-creatures  than  the  God  that  made  them  ? 
Can  any  effect  be  greater  than  its  caufe  ?  Would 
you  bring  all  to  fubmit  to  God,  and  be  happy,  if 
you  could  ?  and  will  not  he,  to  whom  nothing 
that  he  pleafes  to  do  is  impofTible,  bring  all  his 
creatures  to  be  reconciled  to  himfelf  at  laft  ?  He 
has  infinitely  more  love  to  his  creatures,  than  all 
the  faints  and  angels  in  glory  have  ;  he  is  poffeffed 
of  infinite  power  and  wifdom,  as  well  as  love ;  all 
means  to  accomplish  the  work  are  known  to  him  : 
he  can  do  it  in  a  way  that  mall  caufe  his  praife  to 
abound  exceedingly,  in  a  way  perfectly  confident 
with  all  his  perfections,  and  the  whole  of  his  glo- 
rious character  \  it  is  his  will  and  purpofe  fo  to  do, 
as  has  been  proved  at  large ;  What,  then,  can  hin- 
der him  from  fulfilling  it  ? 

Friend.  I  am  not  able  to  gainfay  this  reafoning  j 
it  feems  almoft  undeniable  :  But  can  you  (hew  that 
the  doctrine  of  the  Reftoration  Hands  connected 
with  practical  religion,  or  the  keeping  of  the  com- 
mandments of  God  ? 

Minijler.  I  can  very  eafily  do  that,  in  every  in- 
ftance  ;  but  fhall  only  attend  to  the  following,  as 
a  fpecimen. 

i.  Our  Lord  has  commanded  us  to  love  all  man- 
kind; not  our  brethren  and  friends  only,  but  even 

our 


UNIVERSAL   RESTORATION.  1 17 

our  greateft  enemies  ;  and  all  for  this  purpofe,  that 
we  may  be  the  -children  of  our  Father,  who  is  in 
Heaven,  whofe  love  is  univerfal,  and  whofe  tender 
mercies  are  over  all  his  works  :  See  St.  Matth.  v. 
44 — 48.  St.  Luke,  vi.  27 — 36.  But  if  God  doth 
not  love  all  himfelf,  Chrift  hath  commanded  us  to 
be  more  perfecl,  in  that  refpect,  than  our  Father, 
who  is  in  Heaven  ;  which,  to  fuppofe,  is  highly 
abfurd.  What  mall  we  fay  to  that  doctrine  that 
teaches  us,  that  God  hates,  with  a  perfect  hatred, 
many  of  thofe  whom  he  hath  commanded  us  to 
love  as  ourfelves  ? 

Therefore,  there  is  nothing  in  the  doctrine  of 
the  Reftoration,  contrary  to  the  love  of  our  neigh- 
bour ;  which  on  the  contrary  is  promoted  there- 
by. 

2.  We  are  commanded  to  do  good  to  all  men,  as 
we  have  opportunity.  This  is  recommended  to  us 
by  the  example  of  our  heavenly  Father,  who  mak- 
eth  his  fun  to  rife  on  the  evil  and  on  the  good, 
and  fendeth  rain  on  the  jufl,  and  on  the  unjuft ;' 
and  no  perfon  can  fay,  that  the  belief  of  this  doc- 
trine tends,  in  the  leaft,  to  hinder  us  from  doing 
good  to  all  our  fellow-creatures  ;  but  rather  en- 
courages us  fo  to  do,  from  the  confideration  that 
God  loves  them  all,  and  does  good  to  all,  and  is 
determined  to  make  them  all  the  fubjects  of  his 
kingdom  at  laft. 

3.  We  are  commanded  to  forgive  all  men  their 
trefpajfes,  and  to  pray  ;  faying,  <  Forgive  us  our 
(debts,  or)  trefpaffes,  as  we  forgive  (our  debtors, 
or)  them  that  trefpafs  againft  us  ;'  St.  Matth.  vi. 
12.  St.  Luke,  xi.  4.  And  our  Lord  fays,  «  For,  if 
ye  forgive  men  their  trefpaifes,  your  heavenly  Fa- 
ther will  alfo  forgive  you :  But  if  ye  forgive  not 

men 


Il8  DIALOGUES    ON   THE 

men  their  trefpaffes,  neither  will  your  Father  for- 
give your  trefpaffes;'  St.  Matth.  vi.  14,  15.  See 
alfo,  chap,  xviii.  21 — 35.  St.  Mark,  xi.  25,  26.  St. 
Luke,  vi.  37. 

Now,  is  it  poffible  to  fuppofe,  with  any  degree 
of  reafon,  that  our  Lord  would  command  us,  upon 
pain  of  his  higheft  difpleafure,  to  forgive  thofe 
whom  he  hated,  and  determined  to  punifh  while 
he  mould  exift,  without  having  the  lead:  defire  or 
defign  to  do  them  good  ?  Has  he  promifed  us  the 
greateft  bleffings,  if  we  will  forgive  all  men  -,  and 
will  he  never  forgive  them  ?  He  that  can  believe 
this,  let  him  believe  it.  However,  fince  forgiving 
all  men  is  a  plain  command,  which  none  can  deny; 
I  trull:,  no  one  will  venture  to  fay,  that  believing 
the  final  Reftoration  of  all  men,  at  laft,  will  have 
any  tendency  to  make  us  break  this  precept  of  our 
Saviour's,  upon  which  he  lays  fo  much  flrefs  •,  but, 
I  think,  the  contrary  is  evident. 

4.  We  are  commanded  to  pray  for  all  men  :  St. 
Paul  fays,  *  I  exhort,  therefore,  that,  firff  of  all, 
fupplications,  prayers,  mterceifions,  and  giving  of 
thanks,  be  made  for  all  men  :  For  this  is  good 
and  acceptable  in  the  fight  of  God,  our  Saviour, 
[or  Reftorer)  who  will  have  all  men  to  be  faved, 
(or  reftored)  and  to  come  unto  the  knowledge  of 
the  truth.  For  there  is  one  God,  and  one  Medi- 
ator between  God  and  men,  the  man  Chrifl  Jefus : 
who  gave  himfclf  a  ranfom  for  all,  to  be  teftifled 
in  due  time.'  This  is  the  great  doctrine  of  the 
Gofpel,  the  very  foundation  of  Chriftianity  : — 
'  Whereunto  I  am  ordained  a  preacher,  and  an 
apoflle;  (I  fpeak  the  truth  in  Chrift,  and  lie  not) 
a  teacher  of  the  Gentiles  in  faith  and  verity.'  The 
apoftle  not  only  believed,  but  taught ;    not  only 

taught, 


UNIVERSAL   RESTORATION".  11^ 

taught,  but  commanded  others  to  teach  and  preach 
this  great  doctrine,  of  God's  being  the  Saviour, 
or  Reftorer,  of  all  men :  In  this  he  gloried,  fay- 
ing, *  This  is  a  faithful  faying,  and  worthy  of  all 
acceptation.  For  therefore  we  both  labour  and  fuf- 
fer  reproach,  becaufe  we  truft  in  the  living  God, 
who  is  the  Saviour  (or  Reftorer)  of  ail  men,  fpe- 
cially  of  thofe  that  believe.  Thefe  things  command 
and  teach.' 

Upon  this  grand  foundation,  St.  Paul  recom- 
mends prayer  to  all  men  •,  faying,  «  I  will  there- 
fore, that  men  pray  every  where,  lifting  up  holy 
hands,  without  wrath  and  doubting/  i  Tim.  ii, 
I — 8.iv.  q,  10,  ii. 

Obferve,  the  apoftle  recommends  prayer  for  all 
men  :  and  wills,  that  men  mould  pray  every  where, 
at  all  times,  and  in  all  places,  lifting  up  holy  hands, 
without  wrath  and  doubting.  How  nearly  forgiv- 
ing all  men,  and  praying  for  all  men,  Hand  con- 
nected !  and  both  are  plainly  and  peremptorily  re- 
commended by  our  Lord  5  who  fays,  *  Love  your 
enemies,  blefs  them  that  curie  you,  do  good  to 
them  that  hate  you,  and  pray  for  them  which  def- 
pitefully  uie  you,  and  perfecute  you.' 

We  are  commanded  to  pray  for  all  men,  becaufe 
it  is  the  will  of  God  that  all  men  mould  be  faved  ; 
(or  reftored)  and  becaufe  Chrift  hath  given  him- 
lelf  a  ranlbn  for  all  :  And  we  are  bid  to  pray  with- 
out doubting  :  O,  what  a  word  is  this  !  May  we, 
ought  we,  to  pray  for  the  ialvation  of  all  men, 
without  doubting  r  Surely,  God  would  never  have 
commanded  us  to  do  this,  unlefs  it  was  his  pur- 
pofe  to  reftore  all  men,  in  his  own  time  \  and  no 
man  can  fay,  that  the  belief  of  the  Reftoration 
"will  prevent  our  praying  for  all  men. 


120  DIALOGUES   ON   THE 


I  was  once  on  a  journey,  and  called  in  at  the 
houfe  of  one  of  my  former  good  friends  :  Several 
religious  perfons  were  there ;  and,  after  fome  time, 
my  fentiments  came  to  be  fpoken  of,  and  they 
feemed  to  wonder  how  I  could  embrace  the  opi- 
nion, that  all  men,  finally,  would  be  faved  !  I  told 
them,  however  many  might  preach  againft  it,  that 
no  perfon,  under  the  influence  of  the  Divine  Spi- 
rit, could  pray  againji  it  >,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
we  could  pray  for  it  in  faith,  nothing  wavering, 
as  God  had  commanded,  and  as  his  Spirit  naturally 
infpired  :  that  no  perfon  could  pray  God  not  to 
fave  or  reflore  all  mankind,  without  being  mocked 
at  the  blafphemy  and  impiety  of  fuch  a  prayer  -,  but 
that  our  Lord  had  faid,  that  all  things  whatfoever 
we  afked  in  prayer,  believing  that  we  mould  re- 
ceive, mould  be  granted,  let  them  be  things  feem- 
ingly  ever  fo  impoffible  ;  that  if  we  afked  any  thing 
according  to  his  will,  it  mould  be  done  ;  and  that 
it  was  his  pofitive  and  declared  will,  that  all  men 
fhould  be  faved,  (or  reftored)  and  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth  :  that  we  were  ordered  to 
pray  for  it  in  faith,  without  doubting;  and,  there- 
fore, it  was  as  evident  as  the  nature  of  things  re- 
quired, that  it  would  be  done  ;  fince  God  had  ne- 
ver ordered  us  to  pray  for  any  thing  that  he  was 
not  able  and  willing  to  do.  This,  and  much  more, 
I  faid,  and  they  feemed  exceedingly  well  fatisfied  ; 
efpecially,  when  I  informed  them,  that  it  was 
through  the  blood  of  Chrift,  the  blood  of  the  co- 
venant, that  the  prifoners  mould  be  fent  forth  out 
of  the  pit  wherein  is  no  water,  and  that  all  ihould 
be  reftored  through  his  mediation. 

Friend.  Then  you  hold  that  even  the  damned 

fliall  be  finally  reftored  and  delivered  by  the  pow- 

i  er 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  121 

er  of  Jefus,  and  through  his  blood-fhedding.  I 
have  heard  it  objected  againft  your  fcheme,  that  it 
tended  to  fet  at  nought  the  whole  mediatorial  plan, 
and  to  depreciate  the  blood  of  Jefus,  which  he  fried 
to  purge  our  fins  away ;  though  I  never  obferved 
any  thing  like  this  in  your  difcourfes,  either  in  pub- 
lic or  in  private. 

Minijfer.  No  :  God  forbid  that  I  mould  ever  fet 
afide  the  blood  that  cleanfeth  from  all  fin  ;  nor 
can  I  be  charged  with  it,  unlefs  having  a  much 
higher  idea  of  its  merit  than  my  oppofers,  may  be 
looked  upon  as  tending  to  depreciate  it.  They  hold 
that  it  /hall  cleanfe  a  fmall  number  from  their  fins  ; 
I  believe  that  it  mall  cleanfe,  heal,  and  reftore  the 
whole  human  race.  They  believe  that  its  virtue . 
endures  for  a  little  feafon  ;  I  maintain  that  it  mail 
continue  to  all  ages,  until  all  evil  mall  be  deitroy- 
ed  out  of  the  univerfe. 

Friend.  I  am  fatisfied  that  you  do  not  mean  to 
fet  at  nought  the  powerful  blood  of  the  dear  Re- 
deemer, but  on  the  contrary,  you  fuppofe  that 
your  views  tend  more  to  exalt  it.  Pray  proceed 
in  your  difcourfe. 

Minifter.  I  need  not  fay  much  more  upon  this 
matter ;  Our  Saviour  has  faid,  *  If  any  man  will 
do  his  (the  Father's)  will,  he  fhall  know  of  the 
doctrine,  whether  it  be  of  God,  or  whether  I 
fpeak  of  myfelf,'  St.  John  vii.  17.  This  is  the 
fureft  rule  :  practife  religion  ;  love,  revere,  and 
ferve  God  ;  love  all  men,  even  your  enemies  ;  do 
good  to  all,  forgive  all,  and  pray  for  all ;  and  then 
afk,  Is  the  doctrine  of  the  final  Reftoration  con- 
trary to  this  manner  of  life  ?  If  it  be,  reject  it ; 
for  thefe  commands  are  plain  :  and  if  thefe  princi- 
ples are  inconfiftent  with  the  obfervation  of  thefe 
F  precepts, 


12  2  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

precepts,   then  avoid  them,  as   you  would  death 
and  hell.     But,  I  truft,  it  has  been   fhewn,    that 
the)'  have  no  iuch   tendency ;  but  the  contrary. 
For  inftance,  Does  this  doctrine  tend  to  make  us 
hate  God,  and  his  character  ?    Does  it  naturally 
fill  our  minds  with  felfijlmcfs,  and  prevent  benevo- 
lence from  ruling  within  us  ?  Does  it  fill  us  with 
pride,  and  caufe  us  to  look  down  with  contempt 
upon  thoie  that  are  beneath  us  in  life,  and  banifh 
humility  from  our  hearts  ?  Does  the  belief  of  this, 
caufe  our  breads  to  {well with  y?\eenvy,  and  ran- 
corous malice,  at  the  happinefs  of  others  ?  Does 
it  caufe  us  to  burn  with  hellifh  rage,  fury,  and 
madnefs,  againft  mankind?  Does  it  tend  to  deftroy 
meehicfs,  and  increafe  wrath  ?    If  thefe  queftions 
require  (either  from  the  nature  of  things,  or  from 
known  facts)  the  anlwers  to  be  in  the  affirmative  ; 
then  I  would  abhor  fuch  a  fyftem,  and  wifri  it  to 
be  univerially  detefted  :  But  if,  on  the  contrary, 
the  candid  enquirer  mnft  anfwer  in  the  negative, 
and  fay,  That  the  doctrine  of  the  final  Reftoration 
does  not  tend  to  produce  felfijlmefs,  envy,  pride,  or 
wrath  •,  but,  on  the  contrary,  *  Glory  to  God  in 
the  higheft,  and  on  earth  peace,  good-will  towards 
men  *,'  that  it  caufes  benevolence,  meehicfs,  humility, 
forbearance,  forgivenefs,  charity,  and  all  goodnefs,  to 
abound  and  increafe  -,  then  it  cannot  be  a  licentious 
doctrine,  and  is  not  to  be  difcarded  on  that  ac- 
count •,  for  it  is  a  maxim  with  St.  John,  that  *  He 
that  loveth  his  brother,  abideth  in  the  light,  and 
there  is  none  occafion  of  {tumbling  in  him,'  i  John, 
u.  10.     That  is,  he  cannot  receive,  hold,  maintain, 
or  do,  any  thing  efTentially  or  materially  wrong  ; 
and,  therefore,  can  give  no  juft  occafion  of  of- 
fence :  '  For,  all  the  law  is  fulfilled  in  one  word, 

even 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  12} 

even  in  this  ;  Thou  fhalt  love  thy  neighbour  as 
thyfelf.  For  he  that  loveth  another,  hath  fulfilled 
the  law.  For  this,  Thou  (halt  not  commit  adul- 
tery, Thou  fhalt  not  kill,  Thou  (halt  not  ileal, 
Thou  fhalt  not  bear  falfe  witnefs,  Thou  fhalt  not 
covet;  and  if  there  be  any  other  commandment, 
it  is  briefly  comprehended  in  this  faying  :  Thou 
fhalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyfelf.  Love  work- 
eth  no  ill  to  his  neighbour  :  therefore,  love  is 
the  fulfilling  of  the  law/  Gal.  v.  14.  Rom.  xiii. 
8,  9,  10. 

But  it  is  not  only  from  reafoning,  but  from  facts, 
that  I  am  able  to  prove  that  the  belief  of  the  doc- 
trine of  the  univerfal  Reftoration,  does  not  lead 
men  to  fin.  The  Tnnkers,  or  German  Baptifts, 
in  Pennfylvania,  and  the  ftates  adjacent,  who  take 
the  Scriptures  as  their  only  guide,  in  matters  both 
of  faith  and  pracVie,  have  always  (as  far  as  I  know) 
received,  and  univerfally,  at  prefent,  hold  thefe 
fentiments  :  But  fuch  Chriftians  I  have  never  feen 
as  they  are  ;  fo  averfe  are  they  to  all  fin,  and  to 
many  things  that  other  Chriftians  efteem  lawful, 
that  they  not  only  refufe  to  fwear,  go  to  war,  &c. 
but  are  fo  afraid  of  doing  any  thing  contrary  to 
the  commands  of  Chrift,  that  no  temptation  would 
prevail  upon  them  even  to  fue  any  perfon  at  law, 
for  either  name,  character,  eftate,  or  any  debt,  be 
it  ever  fo  juft :  They  are  induftriou?,  fober,  tem- 
perate, kind,  charitable  people :  envying  not  the 
great,  nor  defpifing  the  mean  :  They  read  much, 
they  fing  and  pray  much,  they  are  conitant  attend- 
ants upon  the  worfhip  of  God  •,  their  dwelling- 
houfes  are  all  houfes  of  prayer  :  They  walk  in  the 
commandments  and  ordinances  of  the  Lord  blame- 
lefs,  both  in  public  and  private :  They  bring  up 
F  2  their 


124  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

their  children  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord  ;  no  noife  of  rudenefs,  fhamelefs  mirth,  loud, 
vain  laughter,  is  heard  within  their  doors :  The 
law  of  kindnefs  is  in  their  mouths  :  no  fournefs, 
or  morofenefs,  difgraces  their  religion  •,  and  what- 
soever they  believe  their  Saviour  commands,  they 
practife,  without  enquiring  or  regarding  what 
others  do. 

I  remember  the  Rev.  Morgan  Edwards,  former- 
ly minifter  of  the  Baptift  Church  in  Philadelphia, 
once  faid  to  me,  *  God  always  will  have  a  vifible 
people  on  earth  j  and  thefe  are  his  people  at  pre- 
fent,  above  any  other  in  the  world.*  And  in  his 
Hiitory  of  the  Baptifts  in  Pennfylvania,  fpeakingof 
thefe  people,  he  fays  :  i  General  redemption  they 
certainly  held,  and,  withal,  general  falvation  > 
which  tenets  (though  wrong)  are  confident.  In 
a  word,  they  are  meek  and  pious  Chriftians  ;  and 
have  jultly  acquired  the  character  of  Theharmlefs 
Tunkers? 

Thus  have  I  proved  that  this  doctrine  is  not  li- 
centious •,  both  from  the  firfr.  principles  on  which 
it  is  founded,  from  the  nature  of  experimental  and 
practical  religion,  and  from  facts.  As  to  that 
part  of  the  objection,  which  fuppofes  this  doc- 
trine to  be  the  fame  that  the  ferpent  preached  to 
Eve,  faying,  '  Ye  fhall  not  furely  die  -,'  it  feems  al- 
molt  unworthy  of  notice:  But  as  it  has  been  glo- 
ried in  by  lbme  writers,  as  unanfwerable,  merely 
becaufe  it  was  pafTed  over  unnoticed,  as  being 
nothing  to  the  purpofe  ;  I  fhall  make  a  few  remarks 
upon  it. 

i.  I  fay,  that  Satan  was  a  liar,  and  God  was 
true:  For  man  and  woman  did  die,  in  a  moral 
ienfb,  on  the  very  day  that  they  finned  ;  they  be- 
came 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  125 

came  dead  in  trefpaffes  and  fins ;  they  loll  the  di- 
vine life,  and  became  earthly,  fenfual,  devilifh  ; 
darknefs  in  their  underftandings,  ftubbornnefs  in 
their  wills,  and  diforder  in  their  affections,  ren- 
dered them  unfit,  unable,  and  unworthy,  to  have 
fellowship  with  their  God.  But  do  they  contradict 
Jehovah,  and  join  with  the  ferpent,  who  afTert, 
that  Jesus,  the  fecond  Adam%  hath  quickened,  and 
is  able  to  quicken,  thofe  who  were  dead  in  trefpaiTes 
and  fins  ?  If  fo,  St.  Paul  joined  with  the  ferpent, 
in  Ephef.  ii.  i. 

2.  Thefentence  of  death  was  pronounced  upon 
man,  even  the  death  of  the  body,  in  thofe  words  : 
'  In  the  fweat  of  thy  face  (halt  thou  eat  bread,  till 
thou  return  unto  the  ground  ;  for  out  of  it  waft 
thou  taken  :  for  dud  thou  art,  and  unto  dud  thou 
malt  return,'  Gen.  iii.  19.  But,  would  it  bejud 
and  right  for  any  one  to  fay,  that  thofe  who  be- 
lieved the  refurrection  of  the  body,  contradicted 
God,  and,  joining  with  the  ferpent,  declared,  that 
men  mould  not  die  ;  meiely,  becaufe  they  afferted, 
according  to  the  promifes,  that  they  mould  rife 
again  ?  Would  not  thofe  who  preach  Jefus>  and 
the  refurrection,  have  a  right  to  look  upon  it  as  a 
vile  and  wilful  flander,  if  any  one  mould  fo  mif- 
reprefent  the  matter  ?  What  !  mult  I  be  accufed 
of  faying,  that  no  man  ever  died,  becaufe  I  believe 
and  teach,  that  fome  have  rifen,  and  that  all  fhall 
be  raifed,  at  lad :  when  even  the  very  idea  of  a 
refurrection,  prefappofes  a  date  of  death  ? 

3.  I  confels,  that  God  has  threatened  finners 
with  the  fecond  death  :  but  do  I  fay,  that  they 
fhall  never  tafte  of  the  fecond  death,  becaufe  I 
declare,  that  the  time  will  come  when  it  fhall  ex- 
id  no  more  ?  This  is  curious   reafoning,  indeed. 

F3  As 


126  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

As  well  may  I  fay,  that  no  man  ever  lived  on 
earth,  becaufe  fo  many  have  died  -,  that  no  one 
fleeps  in  the  night,  who  wakes  in  the  morning  ;  or, 
that  no  fifh  was  ever  in  the  water,  that  was  caught 
and  taken  out. 

Did  St.  Paul  join  with  the  ierpent,  when  he 
faid,  « For  as  in  Adam  all  die,  even  ib  in  Christ 
mall  all  be  made  alive  ?•  i  Cor.  xv.  22.  Will 
any  fuppofe  that  we  affirm,  that  the  dreadful 
threatenings  denounced  by  God,  never  were,  nor 
ever  will  be  executed,  becaufe  we  declare,  that  his 
promiies  ftiall  alio  be  fulfilled  ?  Can  any  reafona- 
ble  man  fuppofe,  becaufe  Chrift  is  the  Saviour  of 
men,  that,  therefore,  they  were  not  in  a  loif  con- 
dition ?  How  abfurd !  when  he  declares,  that  he 
came  to  feek  and  to  fave  the  loft ! 

Thus,  though  mankind  died  a  moral  death,  in 
the  day  wherein  they  finned  ;  yet,  Christ  is  able 
to  quicken  and  raife  them  up  from  the  fame  :  and 
though  their  bodies  die,  in  confequence  of  "the  fall ; 
yet  mail  he  caufe  all  that  are  in  the  graves,  to  hear 
his  voice,  and  come  forth  :  and,  by  the  fame  rule 
of  arguing,  though  many  (hall  fall  under  the  power 
of  the  fecond  death,  which  is  threatened  to  fm- 
ners  j  yet  as  he  has  promifed  to  deftroy  all  that 
bears  the  name  of  dea!h>  their  Reftoration  may  be 
fairly  concluded,  without  either  contradicting  God, 
or  joining  with  the  ferpeut.  Had  the  Scriptures, 
indeed, contained  nothing  but  threatenings  of  death, 
without  any  promifes  of  falvationi  refurreEliony  or 
rejhrat'wn ;  it  would  have  been  prefumptuous  for 
us  to  have  entertained  any  hopes  for  the  human 
race,  or  their  deliverance,  either  from  fin,  death, 
or  /v//:  but,  fince  pronrijls  arc  found,  as  well  as 
threatenings  1  we  muft  not,  under  pretence  or  co- 
lour 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  127 

lor.r  of  believing  the  latter,  reject  the  former,  left 
we  are  found  contradict ors  and  oppofers  of  God  •, 
for  it  is  as  poffible  that  we  may  make  him  a  liar,  in 
refufing  to  believe  the  record  he  has  given  of  his 
Son,  and  his  intentions  of  grace  aud  mercy  to- 
wards mankind, as  in  disregarding  bis  threatenings, 
denounced  againft  :hem  becaufe  of  their  fins. 

As  for  this  doctrine  making  the  hearts  of  the 
righteous  fad  whom  God  would  not  have  made  fad, 
nothing  can  be  more  contrary  to  fact ;  for  if  it  be 
the  will  of  God  to  reward  and  punifh,  and  finally 
to  rtftore  mankind,  none  of  the  righteous  will  be 
ferry,  but,  on  the  contrary,  will  greatly  rejoice. 
It  is  not  God's  truth,  but   men's   lies,   of  which 
the  prophet  fpeaks  •,  which  made  the  hearts  of  the 
righteous  fad,  and  ftrengthened  the  hands  of  the 
wicked,  that  he  mould  not  return  from  his  wicked 
way,  by  promifing  him  life  :  But  we  are  fo  far 
from  ftrengthening  the  hands  of  the  wicked,   and 
faying,  that  no  evil  {hall  come  upon  them ;  that 
we  declare  from  the  Scripture,  that  { the  wrath  of 
God  is  revealed  from  Heaven,  againft  all  ungodli- 
nefs  and  unrighteoufnefs  of  men,  who  hold  the 
tr-uth  in  unrighteoufnefs  ;  unto  them  that  are  con- 
tentious, and  do  not  obey  the  truth,  but  obey  un- 
righteoufnefs,  indignation  and  wrath,  tribulation 
and   anguifh,  upon  every  foul  of  man  that  doeth 
evil  •,  of  the  Jew  fir  ft,  and  alio  of  the  Gentile/ 
Rom.  i.  1 8.  ii.  8,  9.  And  that  '  there  is  no  peace 
to  the  wicked,'  Ifai.  xlviii.  22.  lvii.  20,  21.  There- 
fore, they  are  called  to  repent,  and  turn  to  God  \ 
for  in  fin  they  never  can  be  happy  :  no  unholy,  or 
unclean  thing  can  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  Hea- 
ven.    And  fo  far  are  we  from  promifing  them  life 
in   their  wicked  ways,  that  we  teftify,  from  the 
F  4  Scripture^ 


128  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

Scripture,  thnt  <  He  that  believeth  not  the  Son, 
mall  not  fee  life/  while  he  continues  in  that  ftate  ; 
*  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him/  St.  John, 
iii.  36. 

Friend.  I  had  intended  to  propofe  that  text  as 
an  objection  to  your  fyftem  •,  it  is,  indeed,  one 
that  Dr.  Whitby  infills  much  upon  :  But  I  fee 
how  you  will  anfwer  it — that  the  unbeliever,  as 
fuch,  and  while  he  fo  continues ,  cannot  fee  life  ; 
but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him,  while  he 
remaineth  in  unbelief ;  but  that  God  can  take 
away  the  caufe,  in  his  own  time,  and  then  the 
effect  /hail  ceafe. 

Miuifter.  Certainly,  this  mufl  be  the  meaning: 
for  St.  John  only  meant  to  defcribe  the  difference 
between  believers  and  unbelievers,  as  fuch-,  but 
could  not  mean  to  intimate,  that  thofe  who  were 
unbelievers,  in  his  time,  mould  always  continue  fo. 

But  I  bow  pafs  to  confider  the  latter  part  of 
this  objection,  upon  which  I  have  dwelt  fo  long; 
viz.  that  it  is  the  nature  God  to  lay  the  highefr. 
poffible  restraint  upon  fin,  and,  therefore  he  has 
threatened  it  with  everlajiing  damnation^  which 
mult  intend  endlefs  mi/try  :  and  as  this  reftraint  is 
found  too  weak,  wholly  to  prevent  evil,  what  an 
amazing  increafe  would  there  be,  if  this  reftraint 
mould  be  taken  off,  in  any  degree  ;  as  it  mufl 
be,  if  it  fhould  come  to  be  known  that  punifh- 
ments  were  only  fir  certain  ages  or  periods,  and  de- 
figned  for  the  amendment  of  the  fuffercrs  ? 

I  once  afked  a  Reverend  Divine,  what  was  his 
ftrongeft  argument  in  favour  of  endlefs punijhmcnt  P 
and  he  told  me,  this  which  is  mentioned  above ; 
and,  therefore  as  it  is  of  confiderable  importance, 
I  mall  give  it  a  brief  confideration. 

1.  It 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  120 

I.  It  is  not  quite  clear  to  me,  that  it  is  the  na- 
ture of  God  to  lay  the  higheft  poffible  reftraint  up- 
on fin ;  and  that  he  always  doth  lb,  in  all  his  dif- 
penfations.  He  fometimes  has  higher  defigns  in 
view,  than  barely  to  reftrain  fin  :  he  fometimes, 
perhaps,  fuffers  it  to  prevail  for  a  time,  that  his 
power  might  be  more  manifeft  in  deftroying  it  : 
hence  we  read,  '  Moreover,  the  law  entered* — 
not  merely  to  reftrain  fin,  but—*  that  the  offence 
might  abound :  but  where  fin  abounded,  grace 
did  much  more  abound  ;  that  as  fin  hath  reigned 
unto  death,  even  fo  might  grace  reign,  through 
righteoufnefs,  unto  eternal  life,  by  Jefus  Chrift 
our  Lord.  Wherefore,  then,  ferveth  the  law  ? 
It  was  added  becaufe  of  tranfgreffions,  till  the 
feed  mould  come,  to  whom  the  promife  was 
made/  Rom.  v.  20,  21,  Gal.  iii.  19.  St.  Paul 
fays ;  *  Sin,  taking  occafion  by  the  command- 
ment, wrought  in  me  all  manner  of  concupif- 
cence  \  for,  without  the  law,  fin  was  dead.  Was, 
then,  that  which  was  good,  made  death  unto  me  ? 
God  forbid  :  But  fin,  that  it  might  appear  fin, 
working  death  in  me,  by  that  which  is  good ; 
that  fin,  by  the  commandment,  might  become 
exceeding  finful,'  Rom.  vii.  8,  13.  Perhaps  if 
the  punifhment  of  fins  immediately  followed  the 
commifTion  of  them,  it  would  be  a  flronger  and 
more  effectual  reitraint  than  any  threatenings  of 
future  mifery;  yet  God  does  not  think  it  neceilary 
to  reftrain  fin  by  that  mean,  though  it  is  exprcis- 
ly  afferted,  that,  *  Becaufe  fentence  againft  an  evil 
work  is  not  executed  fpeedily,  therefore  is  the 
heart  of  the  fons  of  men  fully  fet  in  them  to  do 
evil.1  Ecclef.  viii.  11.  There  is  no  doubt  but  if 
the  awful  punifnments  of  the  future  ft  ate  were 
F  5  made 


I  JO  DIALOGUES    ON    THL 

made  vifible  to  our  fenfes,  by  any  means,  they 
would  prove  a  powerful  reitraint  to  fin  ;  yet  God 
has  not  thought  fit  to  reffcrain  it  by  thole,  and 
perhaps  many  other  poiTible  ways  ;  Wherefore,  I 
have  a  right  to  doubt  the  premifes  •,  for,  if  the 
ftrongefl:  poiTible  reftraints  were  laid  upon  fin,  it 
might  not  be  io  confident  with  a  ltate  of  proba- 
tion, as  thole  reafonable  reftraints  which  God 
hath  thought  fit  to  lay  upon  it. 

2.  But  it  may  be  queftioned,  whether  there  is  not 
fomcthing  in  the  idea  of  limited,  yet  certain  pu- 
nifhment,  fo  juft,  equitable,  reafonable,  and  evi- 
dent ;  that  is  much  more  calculated  to  produce 
belief,  and  confequently  more  effectual  to  deftroy 
falfe  hopes  of  eicaping  it,  and  alio  to  check  that 
daring  prefumption,  which  riles  out  of  the  idea 
of  endlefs  mi/etyj  than  can  be  found  in  the  contrary 
doctrine.  Endlefs  punijhment  leems  to  mock  ten- 
der minds,  at  lcaft.  I  heard  of  a  little  boy,  to 
whom  his  mother  conftantly  kept  preaching  dam- 
nation without  end,  for  every  fin  ;  one  day,  after 
ihe  had  been  difcourfing  with  him  in  that  manner, 
he  went  to  work,  but  foon  returned  back,  fud- 
denly  opened  the  door,  and  with  an  air  of  fur- 
prife,  cried  out  ;  (  Why,  mother,  the  law  fays, 
*  Jin  eye  for  an  eye,  a  tooth  for  a  tooth,  a  hand  for  a 
hand,  a  foot  for  afoot ;  but  you  fay,  ten  thoufand 
for  one,  and  that  punifhment  mall  never  end.' 
1  have  heard  of  numbers  that  had  no  better  excufc 
for  finning  greedily,  than  this,  viz.  that  there  was 
no  hopes  of  their  being  laved  \  that,  therefore, 
they  were  determined  to  fin  as  much  as  poffible, 
fince  it  could  make  no  difference.  I  have  reafon 
to  fay,  from  what  I  know  of  mankind,  that  more 
peribns    refufe  to  believe  in  Divine   Revelation, 

becauie 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  I  3  T 

becaufe  it  is  commonly  thought  to  contain  the 
doctrine  of  endlefs  mifery,  than  from  any  other 
caufe  :  And  numbers  have  embraced  it  immedi- 
ately, upon  being  fairly  convinced  that  it  was  not 
neceflary  to  underftand  it  in  that  light.  And  a 
very  fenfible  Deift  once  faid  to  an  acquaintance  of 
mine,  who  believed  and  preached  the  univerfal 
doctrine  •,  '  Had  I  been  acquainted  with  your 
fyftem,  thirty  years  ago,  I  mould  have  been  a 
zealous  Chriftian ;  and  as  great  a  friend  to  Reve- 
lation, as  I  have  been  an  enemy.'  '  And,  pray, 
why  not  now  Doctor  ?' — c  Becaufe  I  am  afhamed, 
having  fo  long  been  fighting  again!!,  to  receive  it 
now.' 

3.  Though  damnation  has  been  commonly  un- 
derstood to  be  endlefsy  for  many  ages  •,  yet  it  has 
not  (as  far  as  we  can  judge)  prevented  evil  at  all,  or 
very  little :  but  I  have  mentioned  before,  how 
very  ftrict  thoie  people  live,  who  receh  e  and  hold 
the  fyftem  of  limited  pnnilhinents  :  whether  it  is, 
that  endlefs  damnation  is  too  unnatural  to  be  be- 
lieved, and  that  limited  puniJhmenUy  being  more 
reafonable,  feem  more  certain ;  or  whether  it  be, 
that  by  ccnfidering  they  (hall  be  puniihed,  either 
without  en/*,  or  not  at  all  ;  and  every  one  think- 
ing that  endlefs  punimment  is  more  than  they  de- 
ferve,  but  is  only  refcrved  for  fome  greater  Tinners, 
and  therefore  they  have  nothing  to  fear  from  it,  I 
mall  not  pretend  to  determine ;  but  certain  it  is, 
that  where  the  idea  of  endlefs  mifery  prevails,  it 
has  not  prevented  iniquity,  in  the  meafure  that 
might  have  been  expected,  on  the  fuppofition  of  its 
being  the  truth  of  God. 

4.  The  great  number  of  Heathens,  that  die  with- 
out ever  being  favoured  with  the  light  of  the  gof- 

pelj 


132  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

pel,  and  certainly  without  ever  hearing  of  endlefs 
mifery  ;  the  many  that  die  in  a  ltate  of  infancy 
and  childhood  ;  together  with  the  infr ances  of  ide- 
ots,  and  peribns  born  deaf  •,  all  convince  me,  more 
than  any  logical  arguments,  that  God  has  many 
ways  of  inftrucYmg  and  reclaiming  his  creatures, 
in  another  ltate,  that  we  are  at  prefent  unacquaint- 
ed with. 

5.  It  is  not  fo  much  the  intention  of  God,  mere- 
ly to  reflrain  fin,  as  to  mew  it  in  all  its  dreadful 
deformity,  punifh  it  according  to  its  deferts,  and, 
finally,  to  mew  the  fuper-abounding  of  his  grace, 
in  overcoming  and  totally  deftroying  it  out  of  his 
creation  •,  which  (hall  be  accomplifhed  when  He 
that  fitteth  upon  the  throne  mail  make  all  things 
new  ;  '  And  there  mall  be  no  more  death,  nei- 
ther forrow,  nor  crying ;  neither  mall  there  be 
any  more  pain  •,  for  the  former  things  are  pafTed 
away,'  Rev.  xxi.  4. 

6.  As  the  doctrine  of  the  final  Reftoration,  has 
been  fhewn  in  itfelf  not  to  have  the  leait  tendency 
to  licentioufnefe,  but  directly  the  reverfe  ;  and,  as 
far  as  I  can  learn,  by  hiitory,  or  my  own  obferva- 
tion,  thofe  who  have  believed  it,  in  the  manner 
here  laid  down,  as  perfectly  confident  with  a  fu- 
tuie  ftate  of  rewards  and  puniihments,  have  been 
particularly  careful  to  depart  from  iniquity  of  eve- 
ry kind  :  yet  if  any  mould  be  fo  loft  to  all  that  is 
good,  as  to  pervert  this  truth  (revealed  for  contra- 
ry purpofes)  to  their  own  deftruction,  they  alone 
muff  bear  the  blame,  the  lofs,  and  the  punifh- 
ment.  The  Scriptures  of  truth  have  been  per- 
verted ;  yet,  that  is  no  argument  againft  Divine 
Revelation  :  The  Gofpel  of  the  Grace  of  Gon, 
has  bticn  abufed  ;  but  mould  it  never  be  preached 

on 


UNIVERSAL  RESTORATION.         133 

©n  that  account  ?  Some,  in  the  apoftles  days, 
turned  the  Grace  of  God  itfelf  into  wantonnefs  or 
lafcivioufnefs,  (See  Jude  4)}  and  others  pretended 
that  thofe  holy  men  encouraged  fin,  by  proclaim- 
ing falvation  to  Tinners,  through  grace,  or  faith 
in  Chrift ;  of  which  St.  Paul  complains,  (Rom.  iii. 
8.)  '  We  be  ilanderoufly  reported,  and  fome  af- 
firm that  we  fay,  Let  us  do  evil,  that  good  may 
come  :  whofe  damnation  is  juft  ' — The  holy  apof- 
tle  abhorred,  and  conftantly  denied  this  horrid 
confequence,  which  fome  perverfe  minds  pre- 
tended to  draw  from  his  doctrine;  he  declared 
that  the  damnation  of  fuch  was  juft,  who  did  fin 
that  grace  might  abound,  or  who  affirmed  that  the 
doctrine  led  thereto,  or  that  the  apoftles  taught  or 
praclifed  any  fuch  things  •,  neverthelefs,  (not  as 
fools,  but  as  wife)  they  did  not  think  fit  to  lay  the 
gofpel  afide,  and  refufe  to  preach  falvation  through 
Christ  any  more  on  that  account :  The  felf-fame 
reafoning  applies  to  the  prefent  cafe. 

Friend.  I  mult  confefs  that  you  have  fo  far  pre- 
vailed as  to  filence  this  great  objection  ;  for  cer- 
tainly the  belief  of  the  Reltoration  feems  by  your 
account  of  it  confident  with  a  ltate  of  grace,  and  the 
knowledge  and  practice  of  religion.  But  though 
you  have  obviated  feveral  objections,  there  is  one 
you  have  not  yet  touched,  which  is  very  confi- 
derable,  and  I  am  doubtful  that  it  will  be  difficult 
if  not  impoffible  for  you  to  anfwer  fairly,  it  may  be 
thus  expreffed,  God  has  abounded  towards  us  in  all 
iv  if  do  m  :  one  inftance  is  his  hanging  out  the  threat- 
enings  of  the  fevereft  punifhments  to  prevent  his 
creatures  from  finning  while  in  this  world ;  but 
to  tell  them  at  the  fame  time,  that  if  they  mould 
fin  he  means  to  fave  them,  is  not  prudent ;  becaufe 

that 


t  ^4  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

that  leffens,  if  not  deftroys  the  force  of  his  threat- 
ening. He  told  Adam  that  if  he  did  eat,  he  ftiould 
furely  die  ;  but  did  not  tell  him  (at  the  fame  time) 
that  if  hefhould  eat,  his  cafe  would  not  be  remedi- 
lefs  ;  this  were  to  take  down  with  one  hand  what 
he  had  fet  up  with  the  other.  After  the  threaten- 
ing failed  of  the  effect,  he  told  him  Co,  and  not  be- 
fore, this  was  prudently  done  ;  fo  after  his  threat- 
enings  fail  of  effecl:  in  this  ftate,  is  the  time  to  re- 
veal his  defign  of  faving  daring  finners.  We  may 
therefore  be  fure  that  he  has  not  done  it  yet,  and 
that  we  miSconftrue  thofe  texts  which  feem  to  con- 
tain iuch  a  revelation.  The  next  ftate  is  the  only 
ftate  to  preach  the  doctrine,  and  reveal  the  doc- 
trine. If  you  preach  it  here,  it  will  be  unneces- 
sary to  preach  it  in  hell ;  for  obftinate  Sinners  will 
carry  it  in  their  heads  thither. 

Minijler.  As  Specious  and  plauSible  as  this  ob- 
jection Seems,  I  doubt  not  of  being  able  to  anfwer 
it  fairly,  without  evading  the  natural  force  of  it  in 
the  leaft.  The  firft  thing  that  I  Shall  notice  in  this 
objection,  is  the  very  different  and  contrary  man- 
ner in  which  you  apply  thofe  words  of  the  apoftle 
from  his  firft  evident  intention.  He  hath  abounded 
towards  us  In  all  ivifdom  and  prudence,  having  made 
hioivn  unto  us  the  myjlery  sf  his  will  according  to  his 
good pleafure,  which  he  hath purpofed  in  himfclf,  that 
in  the  difpenfation  of  the  fulnefs  of  times,  he  might 
gather  together  in  one  all  things  in  Chrifi,  both  which 
are  in  Heaven,  and  which  are  on  earth,  even  in  him. 
Ephef.  i.  8,  9,  10.  God  hath  judged  it  be  the 
height  of  heavenly  wiSdorri  and  prudence  to  make 
known  to  his  Hunts,  his  glorious  purpoSe,  finally 
to  rehcad  all  things  in  Chrift ;  and  we  ought  not 
to  prcSume  to  be  more  wife  and  prudent  than  he. 

There 


CNIVERSA L  RESTORATION.  1$$ 

There  is  no  doubt  but  God  hath  revealed  this 
great  truth  more  immediately  to  his  faints  and 
faithful  ones  for  their  confolation,  than  for  the  be- 
nefit of  the  finally  impenitent. 

It  is  of  amazing,  I  had  almoft  faid  of  infinite 
ufe  to  the  people  of  God,  to  have  this  divine  coun- 
fel  declared  to  them  in  the  prefent  time.  The 
knowledge  of  this  truth  entirely  removes  all  hard 
thoughts  of  God  from  the  minds  of  thofe  who  re- 
ceive it,  as  I  can  teftify  by  experience  ;  for  fince  I 
have  believed  in  the  doctrine  of  the  univerfal  Re- 
ftoration,  I  have  never  had  one  hard  thought  of 
God  abiding  for  one  minute  in  my  mind,  that  I  re- 
member, and  never  expect,  to  have  any  more 
while  I  continue  to  believe  it  firmly. 

The  belief  of  the  Relforation  is  of  great  ufe  in 
fupporting  good  people  under  their  farrows  and 
trials  here  j  the  idea  that  evil  fhall  be  deitroyed, 
and  all  things  reflored  to  their  primitive  glory  is 
the  molt  confolatory  of  all  other  ideas.  As  this 
doctrine  tends  to  remove  the  greateft  difficulties 
from  the  plan  of  Providence,  and  alfo  from  di- 
vine Revelation,  it  is  evident  that  the  knowledge 
of  it  muff  be  of  the  greateff  ufe  to  all  that  love 
their  great  Creator.  And  therefore  if  the  reve- 
lation of  it  anfwered  no  other  purpofe  in  this  life, 
but  for  the  happinefs,  joy,  and  fatisfaclion  of  fuch 
as  love  God,  we  might  be  lure  that  he  hath  made 
it  known,  and  that  we  rightly  underffand  thofe 
paffages  that  hold  it  forth  j  for  fince  <  the  fe- 
cret  of  the  Lord  is  with  them  that  fear  him,  and 
he  will  fhew  them  his  covenant,'  Pial.  xxv.  14. 
and  rThe  Lord  God  will  do  nothing,  but  he*  re- 
vealeth  his  fecret  unto  his  fervants  the  prophets/ 
Amos  iii.  7.    there  is  all  the  renfon  to  conclude, 

that 


13^  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

that  if  God  ever  intended  to  reftore  mankind 
hereafter,  he  would  not  fail  to  reveal  it  to  his 
chofen  and  faithful  fervants.  And  this  he  hath 
done,  if  I  can  underftand  the  meaning  of  words. 

It  is  true  that  God  did  not  inform  our  firft  pa- 
rents before  they  finned  that  he  had  provided  a 
remedy  ;  but  not  long  did  he  delay  after  the  fall  to 
reveal  to  them,  that  the  feed  of  the  woman  mould 
bruife  the  ferpent's  head,  Gen.  hi.  15.  and  this 
one  text  contains  in  miniature  all  that  I  believe 
reflecting  the  Reiteration  of  mankind  ;  for  if  the 
Serpent's  head  is  finally  to  be  bruifed,  his  power 
and  influence  over  mankind,  muff  be  entirely  de- 
frroyed  ;  and  then  what  fhall  prevent  their  return 
to  God  ? 

Befides,  it  is  impoiTible  to  read  the  Scriptures 
attentively,  and  not  perceive  that  God  very  fre- 
quently mixes  promifes  of  mercies  among  his  fe- 
vereft  tfereatenings  of  judgment  j  and  yet  he  doth 
not  throw  down  with  one  hand,  what  he  builds 
up  with  the  other. 

Your  object  feems  to  fuppofe  that  the  doctrine 
of  the  Reftoration  fuperfedes  and  fets  afide  thofe 
punifhments  which  God  has  threatened  to  inflicr. 
npon  the  impenitent ;  or  elfe  how  does  the  preach- 
ing of  this  doctrine  weaken  the  force  of  the  threat- 
enings  ?  But  this  is  a  very  falfe  idea  •,  for  we  ac- 
knowledge that  the  threatening;;  fhall  be  fulfilled, 
and  not  that  the  diiobedient  (hall  efcape  unpunfhed. 
There  is  a  great  deal  of  difference  between  thefe 
two  ideas,  though  you  would  intimate  them  to  be 
the  fame,  and  that  we  contradict  God  by  alluring 
the  wicked  that  they  fhall  efcape  the  juft  judgment 
of  God.  But  we  only  declare  that  an  end  mall 
finally  come  to  their  punifhment,  and  that  when 

they 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  137 

they  fhall  be  fufficiently  humbled  a  difpenfation  of 
mercy  fhall  fucceed  that  of  judgment.  Let  me 
afk  you,  Has  not  God  threatened  mankind  with 
death  on  the  account  of  fin  ?  '  Duft  thou  art,  and 
unto  dufl  thou  malt  return.'  Gen.  iii.  19.  Well, 
tell  me,  is  this  threatening  either  weakened  or  de- 
ftroyed by  the  knowledge  of  the  great  doctrine 
of  the  refurrection  of  the  dead  ?  Did  not  God 
threaten  the  children  of  Ifrael  with  dreadful 
judgments  to  prevent  their  finning,  and  that  they 
mould  be  difperfed  among  all  nations  ?  but  will 
you  fay  that  he  either  weakened  or  deftroyed  the 
force  of  his  threatenings,  becaufe  he  promifed 
them  at  the  fame  time  that  at  lafl  he  would  return 
their  captivity,  and  reftore  them  as  at  the  firft,  and 
do  better  unto  them,  than  at  their  beginning. 

The  laws  of  this  country  condemn  criminals 
to  death :  would  it  be  thought  that  I  mould  weak- 
en or  deftroy  the  force  of  the  penal  flatutes,  by 
faying,  that  the  execution  of  the  law  could  only  be 
felt  for  a  certain  time,  beyond  which  it  could  not 
endure  ?  Is  not  every  malefactor  under  the  fen- 
tence  of  death  fuppofed  to  know  this  ?  and  yet 
will  any  prefume  to  fay,  that  thefe  laws  are  entire- 
ly weakened,  and  their  force  deftroyed  becaufe 
they  do  not  condemn  tranfgreffors  to  endlefs  pu- 
nifhments  ?  But,  if  it  be  allowed  that  torments, 
which  are  but  momentary,  have  a  confiderable  in- 
fluence in  retraining  many  vices,  there  cannot  be 
the  fmallefl:  reafon  to  fear  that  the  doctrine  of  jufl 
retribution  according  to  the  deeds  done  in  the  bo- 
dy, will  open  the  door  to  vice  and  immorality, 
but  on  the  contrary.  But  this  objection  is  fo  near 
a  kin  to  the  lafl  which  you  propofed,  that  it  hard- 
ly deferves  a   diftinct  confideration ;  for  if  the 

doctrine 


I?8  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

doctrine  of  the  Reftoration  does  not  lead  men  to 
commit  fin,  (as  I  am  fure  it  has  no  fuch  tendency) 
then  no  harm  can  be  apprehended  from  its  being 
known  in  this  ftate.  And  whereas  you  argue, 
that  as  it  would  not  be  proper  for  the  prefent  ftate, 
we  may  be  fure  that  God  hath  not  revealed  it ; 
and  therefore  is  highly  proper  for  men  to  know  in 
the  prefent  ftate.  You  will  pleafe  therefore  to  no- 
tice that  the  univerfal  doctrine,  fo  far  from  tend- 
ing to  render  the  divine  threatenings  ufelefs  or 
vain,  weakening  their  force,  or  fetting  them  afide, 
operates  in  the  direct  contrary  manner.  I  as  much 
believe  as  yon  or  any  other  man  can  do,  that  all 
the  threatenings  will  be  fulfilled  upon  the  finally 
impenitent ;  but  dare  not  carry  the  matter  fo  far  as 
to  fet  afide  the  gracious  promifes  of  God,  with 
which  the  Scriptures  appear  to  me  to  abound,  in 
favour  of  the  final  recovery  of  all  at  laft. 

Friend.  It  muft  I  think  be  confefTed  that  if  the 
doctrine  of  the  Reftoration  be  true,  it  would  be 
matter  of  great  joy  and  comfort  for  good  men  to 
know  it,  for  they  have  often  great  trouble  and 
anxiety  of  mind  on  the  account  of  their  families, 
friends,  neighbours,  acquaintance,  and  mankind 
in  general ;  which  forrow  would  be  greatly  reliev- 
ed, could  they  have  an  idea  of  the  Reftoration 
of  all  things  in  the  manner  you  hold  it.  But 
however  true  this  may  be,  it  feems  not  to  be  plain- 
ly revealed  in  the  Scripture,  otherwife  it  would 
not  be  hidden  from  the  eyes  of  fo  many  great  and 
good  men. 

Mhiifter.  It  is  pofTible,  that  afubjecr.  may  be  re- 
vealed in  the  plaineft  manner,  and  yet  the  beft  of 
men  may  remain  ignorant  of  it.  For  inftance,  were 
not  the  fufferings,  death,  and  refurrection  of  our 

Lord 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  1  39 

Lord  plainly  revealed  in  the  Scriptures  of  the  old 
Teftament  ?  And  yet  we  know  that  the  apoftles 
of  our  Saviour  did  not  underftand  one  of  thofe 
prophecies.  Nay,  when  Jefus  told  them  openly 
and  exprefsly  that  he  muff  be  delivered  into  the 
hands  of  men,  and  that  they  fhould  mock,  fcourge, 
and  crucify  him,  and  that  the  third  day  he  mould 
rife  again,  they  did  not  comprehend  his  meaning  ; 
although  he  fpoke  to  them  frequently  and  very 
plainly  upon  the  fubjecl,  and  faid,  <  Let  thefe 
layings  fink  down  into  your  ears  :  for  the  Son  of 
man  mail  be  delivered  into  the  hands  of  men.  But 
they  underftood  not  this  faying,  and  it  was  hid 
from  them,  that  they  perceived  it  not ;  and  they 
feared  to  aik  him  of  that  faying.'  St.  Luke  ix. 
44,  45.  And  in  another  place  we  read,  '  For  he 
taught  his  dlfciples,  and  faid  unto  them,  The  Son 
of  man  is  delivered  into  the  hands  of  men,  and 
they  mail  kill  him  :  and  after  that  he  is  killed,  he 
mall  rife  the  third  day.'  It  is  impoilible  that  words 
fhould  be  more  exprefs,  or  lefs  liable  to  be  mif- 
underftood.  '  But  (as  the  cvangelift  immediately 
informs  us)  c  they  understood  not  that  faying,  and 
were  afraid  to  afk  him.'  St.  Mark  ix.  31,  32. 
And  in  the  fame  chapter  we  find,  that  after  our 
Lord  Jefus  was  transfigured  upon  the  mount,  in 
the  prefence  of  Peter,  James,  and  John,  c  As 
they  came  down  from  the  mountain,  he  charged 
them  that  they  mould  tell  no  man  what  things 
they  had  feenakidl  the  Son  of  man  were  rifen  from 
the  dead.  A^B^y  kept  that  faying  with  them- 
lelves,  queffioniftg  one  with  another  what  the  rif- 
ing  from  the  dead  fhould  mean.'  Ver.  9,  10.  This 
was  what  Chriit  taught  them  not  only  plainly,  but 
alio  frequently.     See  St,    Matt.  xvi.  21.  xvii.  9, 

22, 


140  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

22,  23.  XX.  17,  18,  19.  xxvi.  31,  32.  St.  Mark 
viii.  31.  ix.p,  10,  31,  32.  x.  32,  33,  34.  xiv.  27, 
28.     St.  Luke  ix.  21,   22,  44,  45.  xviii.  31,  32, 

33>  34- 

Yet  notwithflanding  the  plainnefs  and  frequen- 
cy of  thefe  predictions,  and  the  pains  which  Chriffc 
took  to  inftil  thefe  ideas  into  them,  they  never  un- 
derflood  them  at  all  until  fometime  after  they  were 
fulfilled.  For  when  they  faw  him  taken  and  de- 
livered into  the  hands  of  men,  and  treated  exactly 
according  to  his  own  words  often  repeated,  they 
were  entirely  difappointed,  and  all  their  hopes 
feemed  to  die  within  them.  And  when  he  was  rifen 
from  the  dead,  they  would  not  believe  the  teflimo- 
ny  of  thofe  who  had  feen  him,  and  would  hardly 
trufl  their  own  fenfes,  fo  ignorant  were  they  of 
what  he  had  told  them. 

St.  John  was  the  firfl  of  the  diiciples  who  be- 
lieved that  he  was  rifen,  for  thus  he  writes  4Then 
went  in  alfo  that  other  difciple,  who  came  firfl  to 
the  fepulchre,  and  he  faw  and  believed.  For  as 
yet  they  knew  not  the  Scripture  that  he  mufl  rife 
again  from  the  dead.'  St.  John  xx.  8,  9.  This 
inflance  is  fo  much  to  my  purpofe,  and  proves  fo 
evidently  that  a  thing  may  be  plainly  revealed,  and 
exprefTed  in  the  clearefl  manner,  and  yet  not  be 
underflood  ;  that  I  hardly  need  mention  any  more. 
But  I  will  mention  another,  and  that  is,  the  calling 
of  the  Gentiles.  This  was  fpoken  of  by  the  pro- 
phets, in  the  clearefl  language  ;  and  Jefus  after 
his  refurreclion  gave  a  full  commifllon  to  his  apof- 
tles,  which  one  would  think  it  was  impoflible  for 
them  to  mifunderfland. 

4  All  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in 
earthy  Go  ye  therefore  and  teach  all  nations/  &c. 

St, 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  I4I 

St.  Matt,  xxviii.  18,  19.  'Go  ye  unto  all  the 
world,  and  preach  the  gofpel  to  every  creature.' 
St.  Markxvi.  15. 

*  Thus  it  is  written,  and  thus  it  behoved  Chrifr, 
to  fiirTer,  and  to  rife  from  the  dead  on  the  third 
day:  and  that  repentance  and  remiflion  of  fins 
mould  be  preached  among  all  nations,  beginning 
at  Jerufalem.  And  ye  are  witneffes  of  thefe  things.' 
St.  Luke  xxiv.  46,  47,  48.  '  Ye  fhall  receive 
power  after  that  the  Holy  Ghofl  is  come  upon 
you :  and  ye  fhall  be  witnefTes  unto  me  both  in 
Judea  and  in  Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermofl  part 
of  the  earth.'  Acts  i.  8.  But  the  apoftles  them- 
felves,  even  after  the  miraculous  defcent  of  the 
Holy  Ghoft  upon  them,  were  without  undemand- 
ing, refpecting  the  calling  of  the  Gentiles,  until 
St.  Peter  was  taught  it  by  a  viflon  from  heaven. 
See  Acts  x. 

And  St.  Paul  fpeaks  of  this  fubjecl:  as  a  myite- 
ry  that  was  hid  from  ages  and  generations,  and 
particularly  revealed  to  him,  and  to  the  faints 
in  that  day.  See  Ephef.  iii.  1 — 11.  Col.  i.  25, 
26,  27. 

Wherefore,  when  I  confider  that  the  apoftles 
themfelves  could  not  for  a  time  fee  thofe  things  to 
be  revealed,  which  yet  were  mofl  plainly,  fully, 
and  frequently  told  them,  I  cannot  wonder  that 

[many  great  and  good  men  now  fhould  not  fee  the 
general  Redemption  and  final  Reftoration  of  all 
things  plainly  revealed  in  the  Scriptures,  though  to 
me  fcarce  any  fubjecl:  appears  more  evident.  It 
;  gives  me  now  but  little  concern  to  hear  many  fay, 

ithat  they  cannot  fee  the  matter  plainly  declared  in 
the  Bible,  fince  I  know  that  things  have  been 
there  that  wife  and  good  men  could  not  fee ;  and 

1  what 


X^2  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

what  has  happened  in  times  part  may  take  place 
now  :  and  if  I  can  fee  for  myfelf,  this  great  truth 
made  known,  it  is  enough  for  me.  I  am  not  to 
enquire,  What  does  this  man  believe  ?  Or,  What 
fhall  the  other  do  ?  I  rauft  believe  what  the 
Scripture  appears  to  me  to  teach,  and  do  what  I 
am  there  commanded,  let  others  believe  or  do  as 
they  may. 

Friend.  But  I  have  heard  fome  fay  of  you, c  How 
comes  this  man  to  know  more  than  all  the  world  ? 
Have  there  not  been  many  great,  wife,  and  good 
men  in  all  ages,,  that  have  never  thought  of  thefe 
things  ?  If  this  doctrine  of  the  final  Refroration 
of  all  things  had  been  true,  furely  our  wife,  good, 
and  learned  minifters  would  have  difcovered  it,  and 
proclaimed  it  long  ago.  But  the  doctrine  of  end- 
lefs  rnifery  is  a  point  in  which  they  feem  generally  to 
agree,  however  they  differ  in  other  matters,  and 
therefore  it  muft  be  true,  and  this  doctrine  of  the 
general  Reftoration,  which  this  man  holds  up,  al- 
moft  alone,  mult  be  falfe.' 

Mimjler.  I  am  very  far  from  pretending  to  be 
wifer  than  any  that  have  gone  before  me;  and  as 
for  this  doctrine  of  the  Reftoration  it  was  not  only 
believed  and  preached  by  the  apoftles,  but  many 
of  the  ancient  fathers  who  livcth  in  the  firft  ages 
of  Chriftianky,  were  bold  witnefies  for  this  glori- 
ous truth.  It  is  true  that  when  the  Church  of 
Rome  rofe  to  fupreme  power,  the  Popes  and  Coun- 
cils endeavoured  to  extirpate  the  merciful  doElors 
(as  thofe  who  believed  the  general  Reftoration, 
were  called  in  derifion)  and  their  adherents,  but 
it  was  not  until  near  the  clofe  of  the  feventh  cen- 
tury, that  they  were  able  to  filence  the  witnefles 
for  this  truth.  This,  (as  well  as  many  other  pre- 
cious 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  145 

cious  truths)  then  lay  hid  until  the  reformation, 
when  it  began  a  little  to  revive,  and  hath  gradually 
increafed  ever  fince.  Several  great  authors  have 
written  upon  it ;  many  hundreds,  and  even  thou- 
sands have  believed  it,  and  found  comfort  and  joy 
therein.  Nay,  there  are  many  minifters  who  be- 
lieve it  now  as  firmly  as  I  do,  but  do  not  chufe  to 
confefs  or  preach  it,  for  various  reafons  ;  and 
great  numbers  of  private  chriftians  enjoy  the  com- 
fort and  happinels  of  believing  it  fecretly.  But 
put  the  cafe  that  I  ftood  alone  in  this  testimony, 
yet  if  upon  a  fair  examination,  the  Scriptures  hold 
forth  this  idea,  and  if  all  objections  againil:  it  may 
be  fully  anfwered  *,  why  mould  my  testimony  be 
refufed  on  the  account  of  its  Singularity  ?  God  has 
an  abfolute  right  to  ufe  what  means  or  inftruments 
he  pleafes,  to  manifefl  his  truth,  and  to  fulfil  his 
purpofes  j  and  though  I  am  nothing,  and  in  his 
fight  am  lefs  than  nothing,  yet  he  is  able  by  the 
things  that  are  not,  to  confound  and  bring  to  nought 
the  things  that  are,  that  no  rlefh  fiiould  glory  in 
his  prefence.      i  Cor.  i.  28,  29. 

I  acknowledge  that  the  generality  of  minifters 
in  the  prefent  day  profefs  to  believe  endlefs  mifery, 
though  they  difagree  in  other  points ;  and  indeed 
one  reafon  why  they  fall  out  fo  much  about  other 
doctrines,  is,  becaufe  they  receive  this  as  a  firff. 
principle,  as  is  very  obvious;  for  were  thofe  who 
believe  that  Chrift  died  only  for  a  part  of  mankind, 
once  to  give  up  the  idea  of  endlefs  mifery,  they 
would  acknowledge  the  univerfality  of  the  love  of 
God,  and  confefs  that  Jefus  died  for  nil  in  the 
fulleft  fenfe.  And  on  the  other  hand,  if  thofe  who 
believe  in  general  redemption,  were  not  Co  exceed- 
ingly tenacious  of  the  doctrine  of  endlefs  mifery, 

they 


144  DIALOGUES    OK    THE 

they  would  not  oppofe  the  doctrine  of  election, 
nor  hold  that  the  will  of  God  might  be  finally 
fruftrated,  and  that  the  death  of  Chrift  mail  be  in 
vain,  with  refpect  to  many,  and  that  many  ob- 
jects of  the  divine  love  mall  finally  perifh  to  all 
eternity.  Thefe  inconfiftencies  in  their  fentiments, 
and  the  conteff  s  between  them  and  thofe  who  hold 
partial  redemption  and  falvation,  are  therefore 
chiefly,  if  not  wholly  owing  to  both  parties  being 
agreed  in  this  moft  dreadful  doctrine  of  endlefs 
mifery. 

It  is  beautiful  to  obferve  the  progreflion  of  the 
glorious  gofpel,  from  its  opening  to  our  firfl  pa- 
rents in  the  garden  down  to  the  prefent  day.  I 
have  fometimes  mentioned,  in  public,  that  the  more 
the  gofpel  is  known  and  revealed,  the  larger  and 
richer  it  appears. 

It  firft.  feemed  confined  to  one  family  or  nation, 
but  later  difcoveries  (hewed  that  all  nations  had  a 
part  therein,  and  all  forts  of  people  were  defigned 
to  fhare  in  its  bleflings  :  now  the  glorious  news 
begins  to  be  publifhed  abroad,  not  only  that  all 
nations,  and  all  forts  of  people,  but  all  perfons  and 
individuals,  without  exception,  not  only  may  par- 
take of  its  benefits,  but  flail  in  due  time  enjoy 
great  advantages  thereby. 

God  always  adapts  his  remedies  to  the  evils 
that  prevail  in  the  world ;  and  therefore  he  hath 
opened  his  counfels  to  men  according  to  their  dif- 
ferent capacities,  needs,  and  circumftances.  Chrifti- 
anity  might,  formerly,  have  been  received  and  fin- 
cerely  practifed,  without  being  investigated  at  all  \ 
but  when  infidelity  rifes  up  and  attacks  it,  as  it  does 
in  this  our  age,  it  becomes  the  duty  of  its  friends 
to  defend  it,  by  enquiring  into  its  meaning ;  and 

laying 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  145 

laying  all  prejudices  afide,  to  receive  as  truth  thofe 
things  which  God  hath  revealed,  and  the  fame  to 
vindicate  before  the  world. 

It  might  not  formerly  have  been  neceflary  to  un- 
derftand  all  the  prophecies  ;  and  yet  now,  as  the 
time  of  their  fulfilment  draws  nigh,  they  may  be- 
come more  important,  be  more  fludied,  and  better 
underftood  \  and  for  this  purpofe,  God  may  actu- 
ally illuminate  the  minds  of  fome,  to  fet  them 
forth  in  a  more  rational,  fcriptural,  confident  man- 
ner, than  they  have  appeared  in  hitherto.  And  if 
it  mould  pleafe  God  to  make  any  ufe  of  my  tongue 
or  pen  for  this  great  purpofe,  the  glory  mall  be  all 
afcribed  to  his  name,  to  whom  alone  it  is  due  ;  I 
(hall  have  nothing  to  glory  or  boaft  of,  forafmuch 
as  I  can  only  communicate  what  I  receive  •,  and  I 
hope  none  will  refufe  to  receive  the  truth,  however 
weak  or  unworthy  the  inftrument  by  which  God 
may  pleafe  to  fend  it. 

Friend.  If  this  is  the  truth  which  you  hold 
forth,  however  contrary  to  the  commonly  receiv- 
ed opinions  of  the  age,  I  fee  no  reafon  why  men 
mould  refufe  to  hear  what  you  have  to  fay  ;  but 
I  have  heard  many  exclaim  againft  you  in  the  fe~ 
vereft  manner  :  and  declare  that  they  would  not 
hear  you,  nor  read  your  writings  on  any  account : 
and  others  have  faid,  that  they  could  confute  and 
overthrow  your  whole  fyftem  in  ten  minutes, 
but  whether  they  would  be  able  to  make  their 
words  good  if  they  mould  enter  the  lifts  with  you 
is  another  matter,  and  cannot  be  determined  till  a 
fair  trial. 

Minifter.  I  can   afTure    you   my   friend  that  I 

mould  not  have  the  leaft  objection  to  their  makinc 

the  attempt ;  for  though  I  am  confcious  that  net 

G  ther 


14-6  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

ther  my  natural  nor  acquired  abilities,  are  worthy 
to  be  compared  to  thofe  of  many  excellent  charac- 
ters who  hold  the  contrary  fentiments  :  yet  the 
goodnefs  of  the  caufe  in  which  I  am  engaged,  in- 
spires me  with  courage  to  attempt  its  vindication, 
let  who  will  enter  the  lifts  with  me.  For  when 
the  evidence  of  this  moft  glorious  truth  firft  be- 
gan to  appear  to  my  mind,  I  was  determined  never 
to  believe  or  profefs  it,  until  I  could  anfwer  every 
objection  that  could  be  brought  from  the  Scrip- 
tures againft  it,  fairly,  and  without  any  torturing 
or  twifting  the  words  of  truth  \  and  it  pleafed 
God  fo  to  open  matters  to  my  view,  as  to  take 
every  objection  out  of  my  mind,  and  to  clear  up 
every  doubt,  in  fuch  a  manner,  that  I  have  full 
Satisfaction  :  And  I  can  fafely  fay,  in  the  fear  of 
God,  that  I  am  {o  far  from  being  offended  with 
thofe  who  queftion  me  upon  the  matter,  and  there- 
by give  me  an  opportunity  of  anfwcring  for  my- 
felf,  that  I  take  it  as  an  act  of  kindnefs  ;  and  as  I 
ftand  ready  to  be  reproved  wherein  I  am  out  of 
the  way,  io  I  fhall  thank  the  perfon  who,  in  the 
fpirit  of  love,  convinces  me  of  error :  <  Let  the 
righteous  fmite  me  ;  it  fhall  be  a  kindnefs  :  and  let 
them  reprove  me  •,  it  (hall  be  an  excellent  oil,  which 
(hall  not  break  my  head.'  But  let  not  the  man 
who  would  write,  dip  his  pen  in  gall  ;  nor  he  that 
would  converfe,  make  his  tongue  as  a  fharp 
fword :  but  *  Let  all  bitternefs,  and  wrath,  and 
anger,  and  clamour,  and  evil-fpeaking,  be  put 
away  from  vou,  with  all  malice  ;  and  be  ye  kind 
one  to  another,  tender-hearted,  forgiving  one 
another,  even  as  God,  for  Chrift's  fake,  hath  for- 
given you.  Put  on,  therefore,  as  the  elect  of 
God,  holy  and  beloved,  bowels  of  mercies,  kind- 
nefs, 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  147 

nefs,  humblenefs  of  mind,  meeknefs,  long-fufFering ; 
forbearing  one  another,  and  forgiving  one  another, 
if  any  man  have  a  quarrel  againfr.  any  -,  even  as 
Chrift  forgave  you,  fo  alfo  do  ye.  And,  above 
all  things,  put  on  charity,  which  is  the  bond  of 
perfeclnefs,  And  let  the  peace  of  God  rule  in  your 
hearts.'  Thefe  are  the  tempers  of  mind  we  ought 
always  to  pofTefs ;  and  efpecially,  when  we  dii- 
courfe  upon  the  great  things  of  the  kingdom  of 
God. 

Friend.  I  have  the  fame  defires  that  you  exprefs  •, 
and  I  think  it  is  to  the  (hameof  human  nature,  and 
a  reproach  to  the  innocent  caufe  of  Chriftianity, 
that  religious  difputes  have  been  carried  on  with 
fuch  amazing  bitternefs  and  acrimony.  Men  feem 
frequently  to  forget  that  they  are  brethren  ;  and 
that  they  muft  all  ftand  before  the  judgment-feat 
of  Chrift.  If  they  remembered  thefe  things,  as 
they  ought,  they  would  not  revile,  cenfure,  judge, 
and  condemn  each  other,  as  they  do  :  From  which 
evil  practices  may  the  good  Lord  preferve  us,  while 
we  debate  this  very  important  fubjecl  •,  for  though 
I  am  determined  to  urge  every  thing  that  I  can 
with  propriety,  in  the  ftrongeft  manner  that  I  am 
able,  yet  I  am  willing  to  ftipulate  on  my  part,  that 
if  I  mould  ufe  any  reproachful  or  cenibrious  lan- 
guage in  the  remainder  of  the  debate,  I  will  give 
you  leave  to  oonfider  it  as  totally  giving  up  the 
caufe  in  which  I  am  engaged. 

Minifter.  And  I  hereby  promife  the  fame  :  for  I 
am  determined  never  to  write  a  page  of  controver- 
iy,  unlefs  it  can  be  written  in  the  very  jpirit  of  love 
and  true  benevolence,  with  a  fiucere  deiire  to  find 
and  embrace  the  truth. 

G  2  The 


148  DIALOGUES   ON  THE 

The  want  of  this  in  moft  controvcrfial  writers, 
has  made  ferious  people  fo  weary  of  controverfy, 
that  they  will  neither  read  nor  hear  it  on  any  ac- 
count :  nor  can  I  wonder  at  it,  for  fuch  bitter- 
nefs  tends  entirely  to  root  out  the  fpirit  of  true 
religion. 

Friend.  I  hope  we  fhall  mew  an  example  to  man- 
kind, how  difputes  ought  to  be  carried  on  :  in  love, 
and  in  the  fear  of  God,  and  for  the  purpofe  of 
mutual  edification.  But  as  our  prefent  difcourfe 
has  been  long  and  very  important,  I  will  take  my 
leave  of  you  for  this  time,  hoping  at  a  future  op- 
portunity to  have  more  converfation  with  you  on 
this  fo  interefting  a  iubject. 


END    OF   THE   THIRD    DIALOGUE 


DIALOGUE 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  I  49 


DIALOGUE   IV. 


Friend,  T  AM  happy  to  have  another  opportu- 
nity of  difcourfing  with  yen,  concern- 
ing that  point  in  which  you  duTer  from  your  bre- 
thren, the  final  Reftoration  of  all  things.  I  have 
thought  much  of  the  fubject  fmce  I  faw  you;  and 
though  I  muft.  acknowledge,  that  you  have  anfwer- 
ed,  as  far  as  I  can  fee,  fome  of  the  greateit  objec- 
tions that  I  have  found  in  the  Scriptures  ;  yet  a 
conGderable  number  remain  to  be  anfwered,  before 
I  can  venture  to  receive  as  a  truth,  what  I  have  hi- 
therto looked  upon  as  a  dangerous  herefy ;  and  as  I 
have  many  queflions  to  propofe,  I  wifh  to  make 
the  beft  ufe  of  my  time. 

Mlnijler.  Propofe  your  objections,  as  freely  as 
you  pleafe  \  and  I  will  endeavour  to  anfwer  them 
as  briefly,  and  at  the  fame  time  as  plainly  as  pofli- 
ble. 

Friend.  Christ  threatens  the  Jews  with  an  eter- 
nal exclufion  from  his  prefence :  <  Ye  (hall  feek 
me,  and  (hall  not  find  me ;  and  where  I  am,  thi- 
ther ye  cannot  come,'  St.  John  vii.  34.  Then 
faid  Jesus  again  unto  them,  I  go  my  way,  and  ye 
(hall  feek  me,  and  (hall  die  in  your  fins :  whither 
I  go,  ye  cannot  come.  Ye  are  from  beneath,  I 
am  from  above  :  ye  are  of  this  world,  I  am  not  of 
this  world.  I  faid  therefore  unto  you,  That  ye 
G  3  mall 


15°  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

mall  die  in  your  fins  :  for  if  ye  believe  not  that  I 
am  he,  ye  fhall  die  in  your  fins,'  St.  John  viii.  21, 
23>  24. 

M'mijler.  Do  you  recollect  that  our  Lord  ufes 
words  nearly  fimilar  to  fome  of  thefe,  to  his  own 
difciples  ? 

Friend.  No,  indeed ;  I  do  not  remember  any 
fuch  like  expreffions  ufed  to  them :  Can  you  mew 
them  to  me  ? 

Minifter.  If  I  do,  will  you  acknowledge  the 
force  of  the  objection  to  be  removed  ? 

Friend.  Certainly,  I  mud. 

M'mijler.  Then  read  St.  John  xiii.  33.  'Little 
children,  yet  a  little  while  I  am  with  you.  Ye 
mall  feek  mc,  and,  as  I  faid  unto  the  Jews,  Whi- 
ther  I  go,  ye  cannot  come  ;  fo  now  I  fay  unto 
you.' 

Friend.  I  am  furprized  that  I  mould  never  have 
obferved  this  before — Let  me  read  the  pa(Ta<je — 
Oh  !  but  (top — it  is  explained  in  the  36th  ve'rfe : 
*  Simon  Peter  faid  unto  him,  Lord,  whither  ^oefl 
thou  ?  Jesus  anfwered  him,  Whither  I  go,  thou 
canfu  not  follow  me  nowr ;  but  thou  malt  follow ' 
me  afterwards.'  But  nothing  of  the  kind  it>  inti- 
mated refpecYingthe  Jews. 

Minijier.  Not  in  that  text,  I  confefs  ;  but  in  ma- 
ny others  it  is  more  than  intimated,  that  they  fhall ' 
come  to  know  and  love  him,  yea,  and  to  behold 
him  as  their  friend.  I  think,  it  is  intimate  J  '.11 
tbofe  words  which  our  Saviour  ufed,  in  the  clofe 
of  his  ihreatenings  to  Jerufalem  : — *  Behold,  your 
e  is  left  unto  you  defolate:  and  verily  I  fay 
unto  you,  Ye  fhall  not  fee  me  henceforth,  until 
the  time  come  when  ye  ihallfay,  Bleffed  is  he  that  . 
eomCth  in    the  name  of  the  Lord,'    St.  Mattb.  ' 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  IJI 

xxiii.  38,  39.  St.  Luke  xiii.  35.  It  is  more  than 
intimated  in  thefe  words — <  And  fo  all  Ifrael  (hall 
be  faved.  For  God  hath  concluded  them  all  in  un- 
belief, that  he  might  have  mercy  upon  all/  Rom. 
xi.  26,  32.  *  In  Jehovah  fhall  all  the  feed  of  If- 
rael be  juftified,  and  fhall  glory,'  tiki.  xlv.  25,  f  I 
will  call  them  My  people,  who  were  not  my  peo- 
ple;  and  her  Beloved,  that  was  not  beloved.  And 
it  fhall  come  to  pafs,  that  in  the  place  where  it  was 
laid  unto  them,  Ye  are  not  my  people,  there  fnall 
they  be  called,  The  children  of  the  living  God/ 
Rom.  ix.  2^,  26.  *  Now  will  I  bring  again  the 
captivity  of  Jacob,  and  have  mercy  upon  the  whole 
houfe  of  Ifraeh.  I  have  gathered  them  unto  their 
own  land,  and  have  left  none  of  them/  Ezek. 
xxxix.  25,  28.  *  And  I  will  multiply  men  upon 
you,  (the  mountains  of  Ifrael)  all  the  Houle  of 
Ifrael)  even  all  of  it/  xxxvi.  10.  'Behold,  O 
my  people,  I  will  open  your  graves,  and  c  . 
to  come  up  out  of  your  graves,  and  bring  you  in- 
to the  land  of  Ifrael.  And  ye  fhaH  know  that  I 
am  Jehovah,  when  I  have  opened  your  graves, 
Q  my  pagple,  and  brought  you  up  out  of  your 
graves,  and  fhall  put  my  Spirit  in  you,  and  ye 
fhall  live,  and  I  fhall  place  you  in  your  own  land  : 
then  fhall  ye  know  that  I,  Jehovah,  have  fpoken 
it,  and  performed  it,  faith  Jehovah/  chap,  xxxvii. 
12,  i3>M- 

Friend.  But  this  returning  from  captivity,  can 
only  refpect  inch  as  are  alive  at  that  period, 
when  the  Lord  (hall  let  his  hand  the  fecond  time 
to  recover  the  remnant  of  his  people  from  AfTy- 
ria,  &c. 

Mhifter.  That  is  more  than  any  one  can  prove  : 

as  the  exprefiion  is  lometimes  uled  evidently  f<  r 

G  4  the 


152  DIALOGUES   ON   THE 

the  Reftoration  of  fuch  whofe  bodies  are  deftroy- 
ed,  beyond  difputej  as,  in  the  cafe  of  Sodom  and 
her  daughters,  who  were  taken  away,  by  fire  and 
brimftone  from  heaven,  whofe  captivity  God  pro- 
mifes  to  return,  together  with  the  captivity  of  So- 
viaria,  and  her  daughters,  at  the  fame  time  that 
he  will  bring  again  the  captivity  of  Jerttfd- 
leni)  and  her  daughters,  in  the  midfr.  of  them. 
See  Ezek.  xvi.  44 63-,  efpecially,  verfes  53, 

Friend.  But  Mr.  Poole's  Continuators,  as  well 
as  many  other  eminent  divines,  tell  us,  that  thefe 
which  you  take  to  be  promifes,  are  only  dreadful 
threatenings  ;  and  their  meaning  is  this  : — I  never 
will  bring  again  the  captivity  of  Samaria,  and  her 
daughters  *,  nor  the  captivity  of  Sodom,  and  her 
daughters  j  neither  will  I  ever  bring  again  the  cap- 
tivity of  thy  captives,  in  the  midfr.  of  them  :  when 
Sodom  and  her  daughters  (hall  return  to  their  form- 
er eftate,  (which  is  impoflible)  and  Samaria  and 
her  daughters  fliall  return  to  their  former  eftate, 
(which  fliall  never  be)  then  thou  and  thy  daughters 
fhall  return  to  your  former  eftate:  but  thai  time 
(hall  never  come. 

Minijler.  I  know,  fuch  is  their  interpretation, 
which  proves  nothing  more  than  the  weaknefs  of 
their  caufe-,  for  in  all  this,  they  exprefsly  contra- 
dict God,  who,  from  the  60th  verfe  to  the  end  of 
the  chapter,  promifes  bleffings  to  Jerufalem  in  the 
moft  abfolute  manner  •,  That  he  will  remember 
the  covenant  made  with  her  in  the  days  of  her 
youth,  and  will  eftablifh  unto  her  an  everlafting 
covenant  \  that  (lie  fnall  receive  her  lifters,  Samaria 
and  Sodom^  (called  her  elder  and  her  yotwger  fil- 
ters);  and  he  promifes  to  give  them  to  her,  for 

daughters , 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  1 53 

daughters ;  not  by  the  firft  covenant,  indeed, 
bat  by  the  new  and  everlafting  covenant,  which 
he  will  make  in  thofe  days  ;  then  {hall  the  covenant 
be  firmly  eftablifhed  with  her -,  (he  (hall  know  Je- 
hovah ;  fhall  remember,  and  be  confounded  •,  and 
never  (hall  open  her  mouth  in  pride  any  more, 
becaufe  of  her  former  fin  and  (hame,  when  God 
(hall  be  pacified  toward  her,  for  all  that  (he  hath 
done. 

How  many  promifes  has  God  made  to  Jerufalem, 
in  the  prophecies,  of  not  only  bringing  her  captivi- 
ty, and  returning  her  to  her  former  eft  ate  ;  but  even 
caufing  greater  bleflings  than  ever  to  come  to  her, 
and  of  doing  better  to  her  than  in  her  beginning, 
making  her  an  eternal  excellency,  a  joy  of  many  ge- 
nerations, &c. 

It  is  therefore  very  furprifing,  that  men  profef- 
fing  to  believe  the  Bible,  (hould  dare  be  fobold  as 
to  deny  thefe  promifes,  and  declare,  that  God  will 
never  bring  Jerufalem  to  her  former  eftate  !  They 
might,  indeed,  fafely  fay,  that  the  promifes  have 
not  yet  been  fulfilled  -,  but  it  is  too  bold  to  aflfert, 
That  therefore  they  will  never  be  accomplished. 
Were  there  no  other  text  to  prove  the  Reftoration  of 
the  Jews  who  died  in  their  fins,  and  indeed  of  the 
whole  fallen  race  of  Adam,  I  (hould  judge  this  fuf- 
ficient ; — «  All  that  the  Father  givrth  we,Jhallcome 
to  me;  and  him  that  cometh  unto  me,  I  will  in  no 
wife  caft  out.  For  I  came  down  from  heaven, 
not  to  do  my  own  will,  but  the  will  of  him  that 
fent  me.  And  this  is  the  Fathers  will,  which 
hath  fent  me,  that  of  all  which  he  hath  given 
me,  I  fhould  lofe  n. thing;  but  (hould  rade  it  up  a- 
gstt  at  the  laft  day,'  St.  John  vi.  37,  38,  30.  Here 
we  find  that  Chrijl,  our  Lord.,  declare^  not  only 
G   r  that 


154  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

that  aft  that  the  Father  giveth  him  Jhall  come  to 
him  5  but  alio,  that  they  (hail  come  in  fuch  a  man- 
ner, as  in  no  wife  to  be  cafl  out ;  and  that  inch  is 
the  Father's  will,  that  nothing  of  all  which  he  hath 
given  to  the  Son,  mould  be  loft,  or  miffing,  at  that 
great  day  when  he  mall  deliver  up  the  kingdom  to 
the  Father,  who  did  put  all  things  under  him. ;  and 
as  this  is  the  will  of  that  God  ivho  <worketh  all 
things  after  the  counfel  of  his  own  ivill ;  and  as  Chri/l 
has  undertaken  the  accomplifhment  of  this  will  of 
the  Father,  it  concludes  abfolutely  and  forcibly 
agamft  the  doctrine  of  endlefs  mifery,  and  annihila- 
tion. 

Friend.  It  certainly  does,  with  refpeel:  to  all 
thofe  whom  the  Father  giveth,  or  hath  given,  to 
the  Son ;  but  to  none  elie. 

Minijler.  That  is  all  that  I  contend  for  :  I 
ground  the  univerfal  Reft  oration  of  all  things,  up- 
on thefe  two  premifes,  which  I  call  the  major  and 
the  minor,  i.  That  all  things  are  given  to  the  Son, 
without  exception  :  2.  That  all  that  are  given  him, 
fiall  come  to  him,  in  fuch  a  manner  as  not  to  be 
cajlout-,  and  that  none  fhall  be  miffing,  loft,  or 
wholly  deftroyed,  but  fhall  be  forth-coming,  in 
that  great  day  when  Chrifl  fhall  give  up  the  king- 
dom to  the  Father. 

Fricfid.  But  can  you  prove  your  major  ?  I  am 
fenfible  that  the  minor  has  been  the  great  founda- 
tion upon  which  particular  redemption,  &c.  has  been 
fupported  ;  but  if  the  major  can  be  proved,  it  will 
fet  the  ftrongeft  weapons  of  thofe  who  hold  partial 
decrees,  &c.  directly  agair.ft  them,  and  will  give 
another  turn  to  the  argument. 

Minifer.  I  can  prove  the  major  by  the  fame  po- 
liuve  ^xprcilions  as  the  minor,  and  by  more  paffa- 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  1 5) 

ges  of  Scripture  ;  and  you  fhall  judge  for  your  - 
felf,  whether  I  quote  them  fairly,  and  whether 
they  can  be  invalidated  by  any  arguments  which 
will  not,  at  the  fame  time,  invalidate  the  minor.  I 
will  fet  down  the  feveral  texts  at  large,  as  they  are 
of  great  importance. 

St.  Matth.  xi.  27.  <  All  things  are  delivered  un- 
to me  of  my  Father  .-  and  no  man  knoweth  the  Son 
but  the  Father  :  neither  knoweth  any  man  the 
Father,  lave  the  Son,  and  he  to  whomibever  the 
Son  will  reveal  him.'  The  very  fame  words  are 
mentioned  by  St.  Luke  :  See  chap.  x.  22. 

But  the  molt  finking  paffages  of  this  kind,  are 
found  in  the  gofpel  of  St.  John,  chap.  III.  35.  and 
xiii.  3.  'The  Father  loveth  the  Son,  and  hath  gi- 
ven all  things  into  his  hands.  Jcfus  knowing 
that  t  :  given  all  things  into  his  hands, 

:  he  was  come  from  God,  and  went  to 
&c.' 

God  hath  moreover  faid  to  his  Son,  «  Afk  of 
me,  and  I  fhall  give  thee  the  heathen  for  thine  in- 
heritance, and  the  uttermoft  parts  of  the  earth  for 
thy  poiTeffion,'  Pial.  ii.  8. 

Thus,  all  things  are  given  to  Chrij},  without  ex- 
ception. The  major  and  minor  being  both  proved 
from  Scripture,  we  may  venture  to  draw  this  con- 
dition : 

If  all  things  are  given  into  the  hands  of  Chrifi, 
by  the  Father ,•  and  all  that  the  Father  giveth,  or 
hath  given,  lhall  come  to  Chrij},  in  fuch  a  man- 
ner as  not  to  be  calf  out-,  then  {hall  all  men  be  re- 
ftored. 

Here  the  whole  Chriftian  world  may  unite,with- 

out  either  party  being  obliged  to  give  up  their  fa- 

ite  tenets  :  and  while  fome  flro'ngly  contend, 

and 


15^  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

and  prove  from  Scripture,  that  all  things  are  deli- 
vered into  the  hands  of  Jefus ;  let  the  others  go 
on  to  prove,  that  all  that  the  Father  giveth,  (hall 
come  in  fuch  a  manner  as  not  to  be  caft  out :  Thus 
(hall  the  truth  be  promoted  mutually  and  equally, 
by  thofe  who  feem  to  contradict  each  other  •,  but 
neither  (hall,  in  that  cafe,  contradict  what  our 
Lord  hath  faid. 

But  as  all  tbingSy  or  all  men,  without  exception, 
are  given  to  Jefus,  that  he  might  reftore,  or  bring 
them  back  to  God,  in  his  own  way  and  time  ;  fo  is 
he  invefted  with  all  power,  that  he  might  be  able  to 
accomplifh  fo  great  a  work.  Jefus  fpake,  faying, 
1  All  power  is  given  unto  me,  in  Heaven  and  in 
earth/  St.  Matth.  xxviii.  18.  'For  as  the  Father 
hath  life  in  himfelf,  fo  hath  he  given  to  the  Son 
to  have  life  in  himfelf;  and  hath  given  him  autho- 
rity to  execute  judgment  alfo,  becaufe  he  is  the 
Son  of  man,'  St.  John  v.  26,  27.  jtfus,  or  Lord, 
has  power  to  quicken  fouls  who  are  dead  in  tref- 
paffes  and  fms ;  See  Ephef.  ii.  1.  He  himfelf 
faith  •,  l  Verily,  verily,  I  fay  unto  you,  The  hour 
is  coming,  and  now  is,  when  the  dead  (hall  hear 
the  voice  of  the  Son  of  Gcd ;  and  they  that  hear, 
(hall  live,  St.  John  v.  25.  He  hath  power  to  raife 
all  the  dead  that  are  in  their  graves  ;  for  he  faith, 
*  Marvel  not  at  this :  for  the  hour  is  coming,  in 
which  all  that  are  in  the  graves  (hall  hear  his 
voice,  and  (hall  come  forth  :  they  that  have  done 
good,  to  the  refurreclion  of  life  ;  and  they  that 
have  done  evil,  to  the  refurreclion  of  damnation,* 
verfe  29.  But  he  has  not  only  power  to  raife  the 
dead, and  quicken  whom  he  will;  to  give  rewards 
to  them  that  love  him,  and  to  pais  fentence  of  judg- 
ment  and  condemnation  upon  his  foes,  and  they 

that 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  !$7 

that  have  done  evil ;  but  has  alfo  power  tofubdue 
all  things  unto  himfelf,  to  reconcile  all  things ,  and 
to  rehead  all  things  in  himfelf :  And  whatever  me- 
thods he  may  ufe  towards  mankind,  and  whatever 
miferies  he  may  fuffer  them  to  feel  for  their  fins, 
and  how  long  foever  the  dreadful  age  of  judge- 
ment and  fiery  indignation  may  laft,  Chrlfl  has  gi- 
ven us  to  underftand,  in  his  prayer  to  the  Father, 
that  the  power  which  he  hath,  was  given  with  a 
defign  far  fuperiorto  this,  (though  judgment  is  in- 
cluded)— he  faith,  (in  that  addrefs  which,  for  its 
grandeur,  beauty,  fimplicity,  and  majefty,  never 
was  equalled};  c  As  thou  haft  given  him  power 
over  all  f.cjh,  that  he  mould  give  eternal  life  to  as 
many  (pan,  all)  as  thou  haft  given  him.  And 
this  is  life  eternal,  that  they  might  know  thee,  the 
only  true  God,  and  Jefus  Chrifl  whom  thou  haft 
lent/  St.  John  xvii.  2,  3.  Here  we  fee,  that  his 
power  over  ail  flelri  was  given  him  for  this  grand 
purpoie,  that  ultimately  he  might  give  eternal  life; 
not  only  endlefs  exiftence,  but  the  knowledge  of 
God  and  his  Chrijl,  to  all  that  the  Father  hath  gi- 
ven him  ;  which  are  all  without  exception. — This 
is  the  will  of  God,  that  of  all  which  he  hath  given 
the  Son,  he  mould  lofe  nothing ;  but  mould  give 
eternal  life,  even  the  knowledge  of  God,  which 
he  alone  can  give,  to  all,  without  referve,  whom 
the  Father  hath  given  him;  this  is  the  will  which 
Chr'ijl  came  to  do,  and  this  he  hath  power  to  per- 
form.— Now,  if  he  came  purpofely  to  do  the  will 
of  God;  and  if  it  is  the  will  cf  God,  that  of  all 
tliLit  the  Father  hath  given  to  the  Son,  he  fhould 
lofe  nothing ;  but  fhould  bring  all  to  himfelf,  in 
fuch  a  manner  as  that  they  mould  not  be  caft  out, 
and  give  them  all  eternal  life ;  and  if  all,  without 

referve 


15^  DIALOGUES    ON    TIIF.      . 

referve,  are  given  to  him,  and  unive'rfal  power 
and  dominion  are  his,  for  this  very  purpofe ;  if 
all  thefe  premifes  are  true — as  who.  can  deny  ? — ► 
then  nothing  can  be  more  evident  than  this  con- 
cluflon,  viz.   that  All  Jl jail  be  at  loft  rejlored. 

'  It  is  written  in  the  prophets,  (faith  Jefus) — 
And  they  mail  all  be  taught  of  God.  Every  man 
therefore,  that  hath  heard,  and  hath  learned  of  the 
Father,  cometh  unto  me,'  St.  John  vi.  45. — If  all 
mall  be  taught  of  God ;  and  all  that  are  taught, 
mail  come  to  Chrijl ;  and  none  that  come  to  him 
mall  be  caff  out  or  rejected  •,  if  all  thefe  premifes 
are  true  (and,  I  think,  they  are  fully  proved) ; 
how  very  naturally  the  conciufion  follows,  viz. 
that  all  fhall  be  finally  brought  home  to  God,  be- 
fore Chrijl  fhall  refign  the  kingdom  to  the  Father. 

Our  blefTed  Lord  is  inverted  with  power  iuffi- 
cient  to  perform  this  work  :  It  is  the  will  of  God 
that  it  mould  be  done  •,  Chrijl  came  into  the  world 
on  purpofe  to  begin,  and  lay  a  foundation  for  the 
fame ;  he  hath  laid  a  fufficient  foundation,  by  faff- 
ing death  for  all ;  one  died  for  all;  he  gave  himfelf 
a  ranfom  for  ally  to  be  teftified  in  due  time;  and  he 
feemed  confident  that  he  fhould  be  able  to  accom- 
plifh  this  will  of  the  Father,  when  he  faid,  *  And 
I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will  draw  all 
unto  me,'  St.  John  xii.  32.  He  was  lifted  up 
from  the  earth,  and  therefore  the  if  is  now  no 
more  ;  he  will  certainly  draw  all  unto  himfelf,  and 
give  eternal  life,  or  the  knowledge  of  Gcd  to  all. 
Hejhallfee  of the  travail  oj his  foul,  and  be  fatisficd : 
And  who  can  conceive  how  much  it  will  take  to 
iatisfy  the  capacious  foul  of  the  Son  of  God,  and 
efpecially  after  having  borne  fuch  deadly  pains  for 
all?  Thefe  pafTages,  my  friend,  eflablim  my  mind 

in 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  1 59 

ia  the  belief  of  the  final  univerfal  Restitution,  be- 
yond all  hefitation  •,  neverthelefs,  I  would  not  wifli 
to  foi  ce  your  afTent,  were  it  in  my  power,  but  only 
to  lay  before  you  that  evidence  which  has  wrought 
upon  me,  and  has  brought  me  over,  notwithftand- 
ing  my  education,  prejudices,  former  fentiments, 
cuitom,  the  multitude,  my  intereft,  my  honour, 
and  connexions,  were  all  againft  it. 

Friend.  I  fuppofe  you  know  the  expofitions  that 
are  given  by  the  generality  of  e<xpofitors  upon  all 
thefe  texts :  and  it  is  a  fact  that  thoufands  and 
millions  of  great  and  good  men  have  read  them, 
many  have  preached  from  them,  and  yet  never  faw 
any  thing  like  the  univerfal  Reft  oration  contained 
in  them  ;  but  if  the  doctrine  be  true,  and  be  at  all 
intended  to  be  fet  forth  in  the  Scriptures,  I  muft 
fuppofe  that  the  paiTages  you  have  mentioned,  may 
allude  to  it ;  but  I  have  many  objections  yet  to 
propofe,  which  mult  be  fairly  anfwered  before  I 
can  receive  it. 

Minifter.  I  would  chooie  you  iliould  propofe 
every  objection  that  you  can,  efpecially  thofe  that 
may  be  brought  from  the  facred  page  ;  not  only 
for  your  own  fatisfaction,  but  left  any  fhould  be 
led  to  iuppofe  that  objections  of  the  greateft  force 
are  purpofely  kept  back,  becaufe  no  folid  anlwers. 
could  be  found  ;  whereas  I  am  defirous  of  hearing 
whatever  can  be  fairly  urged  from  the  Scriptures 
againft  this  view,  and  make  no  doubt  of  being  able 
to  fhew,  that  all  may  be  fully  anfwered. 

Friend.  What  do  you  think  of  thofe  paiTages, 
where  God  is  reprefented  as  {wearing  in  his  wrath 
that  unbelievers  fhall  not  enter  into  his  reft,  which 
are  found  in  Pfal.  xcv.  n.  Heb.  iii.  n,  18,  19. 
Chap.  iv.    3,  6,  compared  with  Numb.  xiv.  Do 

they 


l6®  IMALOGCTES    ON   TH* 

they  not  feem  to  cut  off  all  hopes  of  the  repara- 
tion of  thofe  who  die  in  their  fins  ? 

Minifler.  By  the  reft  that  was  promifed  to  the 
children  of  Ifrael,  which  they  forfeited  by  their  un- 
belief, we  mud  underftand  the  land  of  Canaan,  and 
not  the  final  ftate  of  happinefs.  For  who  can  fup- 
pofe,  that  out  of  more  than  fix  hundred  thoufand 
men,  befides  women,  only  two  will  be  faved  ? — ■ 
and  that  even  Mofes  and  Aaron,  thofe  faints  of  the 
Lord,  will  be  loft  among  the  reft  ?  For  they,  as 
well  as  others,  entered  not  in  ;  becaufe  they  be- 
lieved not  God,  to  fanctify  him  before  the  congre- 
gation :  (See  Numb.  xx.  12.)  Only  Caleb  and  Jo- 
Jljua  entered  into  that  reft,  for  they  followed  the 
Lord  fully  :  and  they  are  typical  of  thofe  who  fhall 
follow  the  Lamb  in  all  ages,  fo  as  to  obtain  a  part 
in  the  firji  refurretlion,  over  whom  the  fecond 
death  fhall  have  no  power :  they  who  are  called, 
and  chofen,  and  faithful,  and  are  overcomers,  (hall 
reign  with  Chrift  on  earth  during  the  Millenium, 
which  is  the  reft  that  was  pointed  out  by  the  land 
of  Canaan. 

Friend.  Is  it,  indeed  ?  We  have  commonly 
underftood  that  reft  which  the  children  of  Ifrael 
had  in  the  promifed  land,  as  typical  of  Heaven  and 
eternal  felicity. 

Minifler.  This  cannot  be;  fmce  it  is  evident 
that  mighty  wars  were  waged,  and  dreadful  battles 
fought,  thirty-one  kings  and  kingdoms  were  con- 
quered and  fubdued  by  Jomua  and  the  Ifraelites, 
after  they  paflfed  over  Jordan  ;  it  was  not  a  perfect 
reft,  but  only  a  type  of  that  keeping  of  the  fabbath 
which  remains  for  the  people  of  God,  into  which 
we  are  exhorted  to  enter  ;  which  is  the  time  when 
our  Lorc^  after  having  conquered  the  nations  of 

the 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  l6l 

the  earth,  fhall  reign  for  a  thouf and  years >  before  the 
iecond  refurreclion  ;  but  as  many  of  the  Ifraelites 
may  be  faved  in  the  day  of  the  Lord,  whofe  Carca- 
fes  fell  in  the  wildernefs  *,  fo,  likewife,  fhall  the 
names  of  many  be  found  in  the  book  of  life,  at  the 
general  judgment,  when  the  dead,  fmall  and  great, 
mall  (land  before  God,  who  were  not  worthy  to 
have  a  part  in  the  firfl  refurreclion.  Thefe  pafTages, 
therefore,  conclude  flrongly  againfl  thqfe  having  a 
a  part  in  the  firfl  refurrection;  but  nothing  againfl 
the  final  Refloration,  which  is  a  flate  far  beyond, 
and  belongs  to  another  difpenfation. 

Friend.  This  is  quite  a  different  comment  from 
what  I  have  ever  heard  before  •,  but  allowing  this 
objection  to  be  anfwered,  I  have  another  in  my 
mind,  that  appears  very  difficult,  and  I  fhould  be 
gtod  to  know  what  you  can  fay  upon  it  •,  it  is  drawn 
from  Ifaiah  xxvii.  i  r.  '  For  it  is  a  people  of  no 
underflanding  ;  therefore  he  that  made  them  will 
not  have  mercy  on  them,  and  he  that  formed 
them  will  {hew  them  no  favour.'  How  can  they 
ever  be  reflored,  if  God  will  not  have  mercy  upon 
them,  nor  mew  them  any  favour  ? 

Minifter.  If  we  did  not  underfland  thefe  words 
with  feme  limitation,  it  would  be  as  difficult  to  re- 
concile them  with  other  pafTages  of  Scripture,  as 
with  the  doctrine  of  the  Reftoration  ;  but  if  we 
only  limit  the  time,  all  is  eafy;  c  He  fhall  have 
judgment  without  mere}',  that  hath  fhewed  no 
mercy  j'  neverthelefs  it  is  added,  <  but  mercy  re- 
joiceth  againfl  judgment/ James  ii.  13.  The  way 
I  anfwer  all  thefe  threatenings,  and  mew  them  to 
be  confident  with  that  boundlefs  mercy  of  God, 
that  is  over  all  his  works,  i?,  to  mew,  that  both 
wrath  and  mercy  have  their  feafon  ;  that  anger  en- 

duretb 


l62  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

dureth  but  a  moment ,  but  that  mercy  efidureth  far 
ever  i  which  glorious  declaration  is  expreifed  more 
than  forty  times  in  the  Scripture ;  and  that  God 
frequently  threatens  the  greatefl  judgments,  and 
promifeth  the  greateil  mercies,  to  the  lame  people 
and  peribns.  f  Thus  faith  Jehovah,  Thy  bruife 
is  incurable,  and  thy  wound  is  grievous.  There 
is  none  to  plead  thy  caufe,  that  thou  mayeft  be 
bound  up  :  thou  hail  no  healing  medicines.  All 
thy  Jovers  have  forgotten  thee :  they  feek  thee 
not  j  for  I  have  wounded  thee  with  the  wound  of 
an  enemy,  with  the  chaflifement  of  a  cruel  one, 
for  the  multitude  of  thine  iniquity  ;  becaufe  thy 
iins  wTere  increafed.  Why  criefl  thou  for  thine 
affliction  ?  Thy  forrow  is  incurable,  for  the  mul- 
titude of  thine  iniquity  :  becaufe  thy  fins  were  in- 
creafed, I  have  done  thefe  things  unto  thee.' 
Now,  who  would  not  think,  from  reading  thefe 
words,  that  thefe  people  were  in  a  mo  ft  hopelefs 
ftate,  beyond  the  reach  of  mercy  ;  and  that  it  was 
In  vain  for  them  even  to  feck  it  ? — And  yet  the  ve- 
ry next  words  fpeak  a  language  directly  contrary. 
(  Therefore  all  they  that  devour  thee,  (hall  be  de- 
voured, &c.  For  I  will  reflore  health  unto  thee, 
and  I  will  heal  thee  of  thy  wounds,  faith  Jeho- 
vah ;  becaufe  they  called  thee  an  Outcafl,  faying, 
This  is  Z'w?i,  whom  no  man  feeketh  after.'  See 
Jer.  xxx.  12 — 17.  I  could  juftify  this  obferva- 
tion  by  hundreds  of  paliapes  wherein  God  threat- 
ens his  people  with  judgments  the  moil  fevere,  and 
declares — that  his  eye  mail  not  pity,  nor  his  arm 
five;  that  he  will  vifit   their  X rani e  upon 

them,  .will  utterly  call  them  off,  and  will  not 
have  companion  on  them  at  ail  ;  and  then  inch 
promifes  of  mercy  break  out  as  are  fufficient  to  a- 

ftoni/h 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  1 63 

ftonifh  every  one  with  their  greatnefs.  But  time 
would  fail  to  quote  them  at  large.  God,  by  Ho- 
fea,  fays,  *  I  will  no  more  have  mercy  upon  the 
houfe  of  Ifrael ;  but  I  will  utterly  take  them  away. 
For  ye  are  not  my  people,  and  I  will  not  be  your 
God/  And  then  immediately  fays,  fpeaking  of  a 
time  to  come,  *  And  it  mall  come  to  pafs,  that  in 
the  place  where  it  was  faid  unto  them,  Ye  are  not 
my  people,  there  it  mail  be  faid  unto  them,  '  Ye 
are  the  Ions  of  the  living  God.'  See  Hofea,  i.  6, 
9,   10. 

The  whole  prophecy,  indeed,  feems  of  a  piece 
with  this  fpecimen.  In  the  fecond  chapter  it  is 
faid,  '  Plead  with  your  mother,  plead  :  for  me  is 
not  my  wife,  neither  am  I  her  hufband ;  and  I 
will  not  have  mercy  upon  her  children  ;  for  they 
be  the  children  of  whoredoms.'  Then  he  goes 
on  to  pronounce  manv  dreadful  threatenings  •,  but 
the  chapter  clofes  with  the  molt  amazing  promises 
of  mercies  to  the  fame  people,  under  the  fimilitude 
of  a  wife  that  had  been  rejected,  and  after  a  long 
time  received  again.  *  And  I  will  betroth  thee. 
unto  me  for  ever;  yea,  I  will  betroth  thee  unto 
me  in  righteoufnefs,  and  in  judgment,  and  in  Ioy-, 
ing-kindnefs,  and  in  mercies.  I  will  even  betroth 
thee  unto  me  in  faithful  fiefs,  and  thou  fnalt  know 
the  Lord.  And  I  will  low  her  unto  me  in  the 
earth,  and  I  will  have  mercy  upon  her  that  had 
not  obtained  mercy ;  and  I  will  fay  to  them  who 
were  not  my  people,  Thou  art  my  people  i  and, 
they  (hall  fay/  Thou  art  my  God  ;'  See  Hof.  ii.  2, 
4,  19,20,  23.  Thus  the  objection  admits  of  a  fair 
and  rational  aofwer  ;  and  I  have  been  the  larger 
1  it,  becaufe  I  judged  it  of  great  importance 
[ear  it  up  thoroughly:  but  more  paffages  upon 

this 


J^4  DIALOGUES    Olf    THE 

this  fubjecr.  are  needlefs,  or  I  could  eafdy  produce 
great  numbers,  that  fpeak  to  the  fame  purpofe. 

Friend.  You  have  feemed  to  come  over  this  ob- 
jection rather  better  than  I  could  have  expected, 
but  Imuft  beg  leave  to  aflc  you,  What  you  do  with 
that  pafTagc  :  (Pfalms  xlix.  \$.)  c  He  (hall  go  to 
the  generation  of  his  fathers  •,  they  (hall  never 
fee  light  ?• 

Minijler.  I  render  the  words  gnad  natzab,  K  un- 
til fubdued  and  overcome,  they  (hall  not  fee  the 
light ;  or,  s  until  the  age,  or  a  certain  period,  they 
ftiall  not  fee  the  light/  The  fame  words  are  ufed 
in  Job  xxxiv.  36,  where  they  are  rendered  *  unto 
the  end*  c  My  defire  is,  that  Job  may  be  tried 
cnto  the  end.  How  would  it  feem  to  render  the 
words  thus — (  My  defire  is,  that  Job  may  be  tried 
never;  or,  may  never  be  tried  ?'  This  would  be 
quite  inconfiftent  with  the  nature  of  things,  as 
well  as  a  contradiction  in  the  words  themfelves  ; 
For  firft  to  fay,  «  My  defire  is,  that  Job  may  be 
tried,'  and  then  to  add  words  that  mean  never,  is 
quite  ridiculous  even  to  fuppofe ;  but  render  the 
words,  unto  a  time  or  period,  or  as  they  will  bear, 
*  until  he  be  fubdued  or  overcome,*  and  the  meaning 
is  both  plain  and  benevolent :  but  to  wifli  him  tri- 
edfor  ever,  world  without  end,  would  be  a  mod 
malevolent  wifli, — and  to  wifh  him  tried  never, 
would  be  nonfenfe. 

Friend.  This  translation  is  very  different  from 
that  which  we  commonly  read,  in  which  this  text 
appears  a  very  formidable  objection  indeed  :  for  if 
they  [hall  never  fee  the  light,  they  cannot  be  re- 
itored. 

Minijler.  The  word  never  is  fomctimes  ufed  in 
our  tranflation*  in  fuch  a  manner  as  to  oblige  us 

to 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  1 65 

to  underftand  it  in  a  limited  fenfe,  as  has  been  pro- 
red  before;  Lev.  vi.  13.  '  The  fire  fhall  ever  be 
burning  upon  the  altar,  it  (hall  never  go  out ;  and 
in  feveral  other  places. 

Friend.  I  muft  allow  that  the  words  you  men- 
tion feem  very  ftrong  and  abfolute,  but  the  very 
reafon  of  things  obliges  us  to  limit  their  meaning 
to  a  period  or  age  •,  but  where  no  fuch  neceflity 
appears  we  muft  underftand  fuch  words  in  the 
mofl  abfolute  and  unlimited  fenfe. 

Minijler.  I  think  there  is  as  abundant  reafon 
from  Scripture  to  limit  the  time  of  punifhment  as 
any  thing  whatever  ;  as  I  truft  will  appear  in  the 
courfe  of  our  converfation,  for  which  purpofe  I 
mall  be  glad  to  hear  all  that  you  are  able  to  urge 
againft  the  doctrine  of  the  Reftoration. 

Friend.  The  next  objection  I  (hall  bring  is  from 
Job  xxxv i.  18.  *  Becaufe  there  is  wrath,  beware 
left  he  take  thee  away  with  his  ftroke  5  then  a 
great  ranfom  cannot  deliver  thee/  By  which  we 
underfland,  that  after  death  there  is  no  deliver- 
ance, no,  not  even  by  that  great  ranfom  the  blood 
of  Chrift. 

Minijler.  This  would  be  one  of  the  ftrongeft  ob- 
jections that  you  have  yet  advanced,  if  the  words 
a  great  ranfom,  had  any  allufion  to  the  blood  of  the 
dear  Redeemer,  and  if  it  could  be  fairly  demonitra- 
ted,  that  it  can  have  no  power  over  the  dead  ;  but 
I  apprehend,  when  you  read  and  confider  the  text, 
context,  and  fimilar  paiTages,  you  will  fee  that 
no  fuch  thing  is  intended. 

Job  had  frequently  wifhed  for  death  in  his  trou- 
ble and  anguiih,  (as  many  perfons  foolimly  and 
wickedly  do,  that  have  never  felt  the  tenth  part 
of  his  afflictions)  for  which  Elihu  juftly  reproves 
him,  in  thefe  words ;  ■  Becaufe  there  is  wrath,  be- 
ware 


1 66  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

ware  left  he  take  thee  away  with  his  ftroke ;  then 
a  great  ranfom  cannot  deliver  thee/  from  death 
and  the  grave ;  from  being  cut  off  by  the  hand  of 
Heaven,  juflly  provoked  by  thy  rafhnefs :  *  Will 
he  efteem  thy  riches  ?'  Will  he  account  thy  great 
riches  a  ranfom  for  thy  life  ?  '  No  not  gold,  nor 
all  the  forces  of  ftrength  :'  Wouldeft  thou  give 
ever  fo  much  of  the  precious  ore  to  ranfom  thy 
life,  it  would  be  unavailable  •,  or,  fhouldeft  thou 
truft  in  thy  ftrength  of  body  or  mind ;  fhouldeft 
thou  plead  the  readinefs  of  thy  wit,  the  ftrength 
and  greatnefs  of  thy  judgment,  memory,  and 
other  faculties  ;  thy  benevolence  of  difpofition ; 
thy  ufefulnefs  in  life,  thy  numerous  connections, 
the  great  honours  that  await  thee  \  wert  thou  a 
monarch,  and  couldeft  thou  command  armies  and 
valiant  hofts,  ftrong  and  mighty ;  all  thefe  things 
would  be  totally  diiregarded  by  God,  if  he,  pro- 
voked by  thy  rafhnefs,  fhould  give  thee  thy  wifh, 
and  ifTue  the  death  warrant  againft  thy  life  :  there- 
fore, confiderlng  thefe  things,  *  Defire  not  the 
night  (of  death,  and  efpecially  iudden  death)  when 
people  are  cut  off  in  their  place  ;'  and  there  is  no 
remedy,  no  ranfom,  no  difcharge  in  that  war  •, 
from  which  neither  power,  wifdom,  might,  riches, 
honours,  wickednefs,  nor  even  virtue,  can  deliver* 

*  Take  heed,  regard  not  iniquity  ;'  do  not  fin  in  any 
wife,  and  efpecially  do  not  raflily  wifh  for  death; 
which  is  very  prefumptuous  and  heaven  daring-, 

*  for  this  thou  haft  choien,  rather  than  affliction  :> 
See  Job  xxxvi.  18,  19,  20,  21.  This  is  evident- 
ly the  plain  meaning  of  the  text,  and  is  confirmed 
by  Pial.  xlix.  6,  7,  8,  9.  *  They  that  truft  in 
their  wealth,  and  boaft  thcmfelves  in  the  multi- 
tude of  their  riches  ;  none  of  them  can  by  any 
means  redeem  his  brother,  nor  gi\e  to  God  a  ran- 
fom 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  l6? 

fom  for  him  :  (For  the  redemption  of  their  foul  is 
precious,  and  it  ceafeth  for  ever.)  That  he  fhould 
frill  live  for  ever,  and  not  fee  corruption.'  But, 
though  the  power  of  wealth,  wifdom,  and  ftrength, 
are  not  fufficient  to  buy  a  fhort  reprieve  from 
death ;  yet  the  power  of  God  is  able  to  ranfom 
therefrom,  and  to  redeem  from  the  grave,  or  hell, 
as  I  have  noticed  before ;  and  which  is  expreffed 
in  the  lait-mentioned  Pfalm,  in  the  following 
terms  ;  *  But  God  will  redeem  my  foul  from  the 
power  of  the  grave  j  for  he  mall  receive  me,'  ver. 
15.  And  by  the  fame  parity  of  reafoning,  that 
the  power  of  the  Highest  is  able  alfo  to  redeem 
or  ranfom,  the  bodies  of  men  from  the  grave,  af- 
ter they  have  periftied  there  :  he  is  able  alfo  to 
redeem  fouls  from  fin  and  mifery,  if  it  be  his 
pleafure  ;  and,  by  the  blood  of  the  Messiah's, 
covenant,  to  fend  forth  his  prifoners  out  of  the 
pit  wherein  is  no  water,  not  even  a  drop  to  cool 
the  tongues  of  thofe  who  are  tormented  there.  I 
have  therefore  no  doubt,  but,  the  blood  of  Chrift 
is  able  to  redeem  to  the  uttermoft,  and  is  fufficient 
to  deftroy  the  power  of  fm,  death,  and  hell.  No- 
thing in  the  text  on  which  your  objection  is  found- 
ed, can  depreciate  the  merit  of  that  cleanfmg,  all- 
powerful  blood,  by  proving  that  it  cannot  be  ef- 
fectual to  loft  fouls. 

Friend.  But  have  you  forgot  that  the  Scripture 
{ays,  *  Whatfoever  thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it 
with  thy  might :  for  there  is  no  work,  nor  device, 
nor  knowledge,  nor  wifdom,  in  the  grave,  whither 
thou  goeft.  And  if  the  tree  fall  toward  .the 
fouth,  or  toward  the  north  ;  in  the  place  where 
the  tree  fallath,  there  it  mail  be  ?'  Ecclef.  ix.  10. 
xi.  3. 

Mintfter, 


l68  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

Minlfter.  No ;  I  have  not  forgot  that  fuch  paf- 
fages  are  found  in  the  Bible  ;  and  I  believe  they 
were  written  with  a  defign  to  make  us  diligent, 
and  wifely  to  improve  our  time  and  talents  ;  and 
that  we  fhould  be  liberal  in  giving  alms,  which 
feems  efpecially  to  be  the  meaning  of  the  laft,  if  we 
may  judge  by  the  connection  in  which  it  is  found, 
and  without  which  I  am  not  able  to  fay  what  it  in- 
tends :  But,  in  this  cafe,  they  do  not  appear  to  me 
to  be  any  thing  to  the  purpofe,  one  way  or  the 
other  ;  and  yet  no  Scriptures  are  more  frequently 
brought  than  thefe  againft  the  doctrine  of  the  Re- 
ftoration  of  all  things  •,  but  commonly  accompani- 
ed with  fome  additions  ;  fuch  as — *  There  is  no 
repentance  in  the  grave  ;  Nor  pardon  offered  to  the 
dead/ — c  And  as  death  leaves  us,  fo  judgment 
finds  us/ — Words  that  I  have  never  found  in  the 
Bible  ;  but  were  they  repeated  ever  fo  often,  could 
not  affect:  this  argument  •,  fince  the  general  Reft  ora- 
tion cannot  happen  till  long  after  the  laft  Judg- 
ment, and  will  not  be  wholly  compleated  till  the 
time  of  the  creation  of  the  new  heavens  and  earth, 
wherein  righteoufnefs  alone  (hall  dwell. 

We  all  know,  that  the  grave  is  a  place  of  inac- 
tivity, where  there  is  no  work,  device,  knowledge, 
nor  tuifdom  ;  and  it  is  a  ftate  to  which  we  /hall  foon 
be  brought ,  and,  therefore,  we  ought  to  be  dili- 
gent and  induftrious  now  :  But  thofe  who  believe 
in  the  immortality  of  the  foul,  will  not  undertake 
to  prove  from  thefe  words,  that  it  has  no  knowledge, 
or  tuifdom,  after  it  leaves  the  body;  fince  many 
of  them  fay,  that  the  foul  knows  much  more  in 
cne  hour  after  that  event  takes  place,  than  in  the 
whole  period  of  its  cxiftence  before.  And  as  for 
thofe  who  believe  that  man  dies  wholly  y  and  ileeps 
a  in 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  169 

in  the  grave  until  the  refur rection,  they  can  never 
bring  this  text  with  any  confiftency  againft  the  fi- 
nal Reftoration  of  all  men  •,  becaufe,  let  what  will 
be  the  ftate  of  things  in  the  grave,  nothing  can 
prevent  our  Saviour  from  raifing  all  at  laft,  and 
changing  them  finally  for  the  better,  if  fuch  be 
his  pleasure.  I  might,  therefore,  juft  as  well  at- 
tempt, from  the  vii.  and  xiv.  chapters  of  Job,  to 
prove,  that  there  fhall  be  no  rifurreTlion  of  the 
dead  from  their  graves,  notwithstanding  the  nu- 
merous promifes  of  that  grand  event ;  as  any  per- 
lon  to  prove,  from  theie  and  fimilar  pafTages,  that 
all  men  pall  not  be  finally  rejlored  ;  fince  what  is 
laid  in  thofe  chapters  feems  ten  times  more  againft 
the  former,  than  any  thing  that  can  be  urged  from 
thefe  is  againft  the  latter.  The  doctrine  of  the 
general  refurre&ion  of  the  juft  and  unjuft  •,  and  a 
ftate  of  rewards  for  the  former,  and  pimifimients 
for  the  latter,  according  to  their  works  •,  and  alfo 
the  fubjcclion,  final  reconciliation,  and  re-union  of 
all  things  in  Christ,  are  all  exprefsly  revealed, 
and  are  made  the  fubject  of  prophecies,  threaten- 
ings,  and  promifes  ;  and  are  all  truths,  that  cannot 
be  overthrown  by  any  reafonings,  as  they  are  plain- 
ly declared  by  God  himfeif. 

The  Scripture,  in  abundance  of  places,  highly 
recommends  liberality  -,  and,  in  the  molt  pofitive 
manner,  allures  the  bounteous,  that  they  fhall  be 
blefTed  :  I  need  not  recite  pafTages  to  prove,  what 
is  fo  univerfally  known  and  confefTed.  Solomony 
therefore,  having  given  many  excellent  precepts 
to  direct,  us  in  other  matters,  comes  to  exhort  us 
to  be  bountiful  and  liberal,  in  diftributing  to  the 
neceflities  of  others  what  God  hath  blefTed  us  with- 
al ;  faying,  *  Call  thy  bread  upon  the  waters  ;  for 
H  thou 


170  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

thou  fhalt  find  it  after  many  days.  Give  a  portion 
to  feven,  and  alio  to  eight  ■,  for  thou  knoweft  not 
what  evil  (hall  be  upon  the  earth.  If  the  clouds 
be  full  of  rain,  they  empty  themfelves  upon  the 
earth  :  and  if  the  tree  fall  toward  the  fouth,  or  to- 
ward the  north  ;  in  the  place  where  the  tree  fall- 
eth,  there  it  (hall  be.'  Thereby  intimating  to  us, 
that  as  certainly  as  thefe  plain  common  obferva- 
tions  are  true,  (than  which  nothing  can  be  more 
fo)  (hall  they  who  beftow  liberally  upon  the  poor 
and  needy,  be  rewarded  ;  fince  God  has  promifed, 
and  he  will  perform  :  See,  upon  this  fubject,  Deut. 
xv.  10,  1 1. — Pfal.  xli.  i,  2,  3,  cxii. — Prov.  xi.  24, 
25,  26.  xiv.  31.  xix.  17.  xxii.  9. — St.  Matth.  vi.  3, 
4,  x.  42. — St.  Lukevi.  38.  xii.  33.  xiv.  12,  13, 
14. — 2  Cor.  viii.  9. —  1  Tim.  vi.  17,  18,  19 — and 
many  other  places. 

Solomon  then  goes  on  upon  the  fame  fubjecl:,  and 
intimates  to  us,  by  two  ftriking  metaphors,  that  if 
we  wait  till  no  difficulties  appear  in  our  way  to 
hinder  us  from  performing  our  duty,  we  (hall  never 
reap  the  bleffing  •,  and  after  giving  us  to  under- 
hand that  God  has  many  fecret  ways  of  working, 
far  above  our  comprehenfion,  and  can  therefore 
blefs  and  reward  us  in  many  ways  out  of  our  own 
light,  or  the  view  of  others,  and  yet  no4efs  cer- 
tainly than  children  are  conceived,  nonrifhed,  and 
receive  life  in  the  womb,  though  we  know  not 
how ;  he  comes  to  give  us  a  warm  and  preiling 
exhortation,  to  be  conftant  in  doing  good  to  all, 
according  to  our  power  ;  and  to  be  fo  far  from 
concluding  that  to  be  loft  that  we  thus  be- 
ftow, that  we  ought  to  confider  alms  as  feed 
Ibwn  in  a  fruitful  foil,  and  fhould,  with  pati- 
ence, wait  for  the  glorious  harveft,  when,  through 

the 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  I  71 

the  divine  bleffing,  we  may  expect  to  reap  an  hun- 
dred fold. 

All  this  is  piain  and  eafy :  But  how  any  text  in 
this  beautiful  chain,  mould  ever  have  been  thought 
to  have  any  allufion  to  the  ftate  of  fouls  departed, 
or  brought  as  a  proof  that  no  alteration  can  take 
place  after  death,  I  cannot  conceive.  But,  allow- 
ing it  to  have  any  relation  at  all  to  a  future  ftate, 
it  cannot  then  in  the  leafl  difprove,  that  very  ma- 
terial changes  may  happen  to  fouls  in  the  fpiritual 
world ;  iince  a  tree  cut  down  by  its  owner,  lies 
not  long  in  the  fame  pofition  in  which  it  falls,  but 
is  applied  to  various  ufes,  according  to  its  fitnefs 
and  his  pleafure.  But  as  this  is  nothing  to  the 
purpofe,  I  think  I  have  taken  too  much  pains  here 
already ;  and  I  mould  have  faid  little  or  nothing 
upon  this  part  of  the  objection,  were  it  not  con- 
tinually urged,  as  though  the  whole  controverly 
turned  and  terminated  upon  this  allufion,  than 
which,  nothing  feems  farther  from  the  meaning 
of  the  text ;  which,  in  its  true  fenfe,  appears  to 
be  this — That  as  certainly  as  full  clouds  mufl 
empty  themfelves  upon  the  terraqueous  globe,  and 
that  every  thing  is  what  it  is,  and  where  it  is,  and 
no  where  elfe ;  and  as  a  tree  falling  to  the  fouth, 
does  not  fall  and  lie  to  the  north  ;  and,  vice  verfa, 
fo,  with  the  fame  certainty,  (hall  liberality  be  blefl 
and  rewarded. 

Friend.  I  have  nothing  to  object  to  what  you 
have  faid  upon  the  text  ;  it  appears  natural.  I 
formerly  thought  it  intended,  that  as  perfons  were 
laid  in  the  grave,  {o  they  fhould  rife,  and  that  there 
could  be  no  change  after  death  ;  but  I  am  fully 
convinced^  that  this  belongs  not  to  the  fubject. 
But  there  is  another  paffage,  in  the  book  of  Eccle- 
H  2  fiafles, 


I72  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

fiaftes,  (chap.  ix.  4,  5,  6.)  that  I  mould  be  glad 

to  hear  your  opinion  of: '  For  to  him  that  is 

joined  to  all  the  living,  there  is  hope ;  for  a  living 
dog  is  better  than  a  dead  lion.  For  the  living 
know,  that  they  mult  die  :  but  the  dead  know  not 
any  thing,  neither  have  they  any  more  a  reward  ; 
for  the  memory  of  them  is  forgotten.  Alfo, 
their  love,  and  their  hatred,  and  their  envy,  is 
now  perimed  :  neither  have  they  any  more  a  por- 
tion for  ever,  in  any  thing  that  is  done  under  the 
fun/ 

Minijler.  It  is  evident  that  the  wife  man,  in  this 
and  many  other  of  his  obfervations,  only  confider- 
ed  things  with  refpect  to  the  prefent  life,  without 
any  regard  to  a  future  ftate.  In  this  view,  his  de- 
clarations are  confiftent  with  truth  ;  but  in  no 
other.  Let  the  following  ferve  as  a  fpecimen  : — 
'  No  man  knoweth  either  love  or  hatred,  by  all 
that  is  before  them.  All  things  come  alike  to  all ; 
there  is  one  event  to  the  righteous  and  to  the  wick- 
ed ;  to  the  good,  and  to  the  clean,  and  to  the  un- 
clean j  to  him  that  facrificeth,  and  to  him  that  fa- 
crificeth  not ;  as  is  the  good,  fo  is  the  finner ;  and 
he  that  fweareth,  as  he  that  feareth  an  oath/  ver. 

1,  2. Nothing  could  poffibly  be  more  falfe  than 

thefe  obfervations,  applied  to  a  future  ftate,  though 
they  are  generally  true  in  this  life ;  for  if  there 
are  no  future  rewards  and  punifhments,  no  ftate 
of  retribution  hereafter,  there  is  an  end  to  all  re- 
ligion. But  he  does  not  finally  leave  the  matter  fo  •, 
but  makes  a  moft  excellent  conclufion  to  this  book  ; 
faying  — 

c  Let  us  hear  the  conclufion  of  the  whole  mat- 
ter :  Fear  {or  revere)  God,  and  keep  his  command- 
ments :  for  this  is  the  whole  duty  of  man.     For 

God 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  173 

God  mall  bring  every  work  into  judgment,  with 
every  fecret  thing  ;  whether  it  be  good,  or  whether 
it  be  evil,  chap.  xii.  13,  14. 

Thus,  it  is  plain,  that  a  living  dog  is  better 
(more  uieful  in  this  world)  than  a  dead  lion  \ 
which  is  no  longer  capable  of  doing  good  or  evil  -y 
that  a  man,  when  he  dies,  lofes  all  hopes  of  en- 
joyment in  this  life,  and  is  rendered  incapable  of 
exercifing  the  functions  of  it  any  longer  •,  has  no 
more  a  portion  in  any  thing  belonging  thereto. 
Thus,  in  fine,  all  the  obiervations  that  can  be  fairly 
made,  upon  this  and  fimilar  pafTages,  belong  en- 
tirely to  the  prefent  ftate  of  things  •,  and,  there- 
fore, do  not  at  all  affect,  the  argument,  either  one 
way  or  the  other. 

Friend.  This  is  fo  plain,  that  nothing  can  be 
more  fo  j  but  our  Saviour's  words  (St.  John  ix,  4.) 
deferve  a  particular  confideration: — '  I  mull:  work 
the  works  of  him  that  fent  me,  while  it  is  day  :  the 
night  cometh,  when  no  man  can  work :' — which 
is  explained  commonly  of  the  night  of  death,  when 
no  more  works  can  he  wrought. 

Minijler.  Our  Lord  was  diligent  in  his  labour  ; 
he  conftantly  went  about  doing  good  ;  he  was  ne- 
ver idle  \  he  was  in  hafte,  till  he  had  finiiried  the 
work  which  his  father  had  given  him  to  do.  In 
this  he  was — as  in  every  thing  elfe — a  glorious 
pattern  and  example  for  us !  And,  O  that  we  might 
follow  him  ! — Now  we  may  feed  the  hungry,  give 
drink  to  the  thirfty,  clothe  the  naked,  be  eyes  to 
the  blind,  feet  to  the  lame  ;  may  take  in  the  Gran- 
ger, relieve  the  diftrefled,  vifit  the  fick,  the  father- 
lefs,  widows,  and  prifoners  in  their  afflicYion  ;  may 
bury  the  dead, — and  conftantly  perform  works  of 
benevolence  and  mercy,  while  we  remain  in  this 
H  3  ftate 


174  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

ftate  of  our  exiftence  ;  which  if  we  here  neglect, 
we  never  can  perform  at  all,  and  of  confeqnence, 
never  obtain  the  rewards  which  are  promifed  to 
the  obedient :  but  as  it  is  not  the  itate  of  rewards 
and  puniihments  that  we  are  now  difcourfing  about, 
but  a  ilate  beyond — even  the  Reftoration  of  all 
things  ;  neither  is  the  difpute  about  what  men  can 
do  after  this  life,  but  what  God  can  do,  or  what 
he  has  purpofed  to  do  with  and  for  them,  in  the 
ages  to  come,  after  the  dreadful  fentence  is  paft ; 
whether  they  fhall  be  left  under  the  fame,  ivhile 
God  exifls ;  or  whether  they  fhall  ever  be  reftored  ; 
or  whether  they  ihall  be  annihilated :  this,  you 
know,  is  the  ftate  of  the  queftion  :  fome  hold  the 
firfli  and  others  the  loft :  but  I  am  apt  to  think 
both  thefe  opinions  are  extremes,  and  therefore 
judge  it  fafeft  to  maintain  the  fecond,  which  I  take 
to  be  the  medium  here. 

Friend,  Indeed  I  am  convinced,  that  no  circum- 
ftance  preceding  the  general  judgment,  can  affect 
the  argument  -,  becanie  we  are  informed,  that  the 
condemnation  of  the  wicked  fhall  be  at  that  day  j 
then  God  will  render  to  them  according  to  their 
deeds,  and  will  fay  to  them,  Depart  from  me9  &c. 
— But  the  following  texts  of  Scripture  forma  ftrong 
objection  to  the  univerfal  Reftoration,  which  I 
would  wifh  you  well  to  confider. 

€  The  expectation  of  the  wicked  fhall  perifh  ; 
and  the  hypocrite's  hope  fhall  perifh  :  Whofe 
hope  fhall  be  cut  off,  and  whofe  truft  fhall  be  a 
fpider's  web.  He  fhall  lean  upon  his  houfe,  but 
it  fhall  not  Hand  ;  he  fhall  hold  it  faft,  but  it  fhall 
not  endure.  The  heaven  fhall  reveal  his  iniquity, 
and  the  earth  fhall  rife  up  againft  him.  The  eyes 
of  the  wicked  fhall  fail,  and  they  fhall  not  efcape; 

and 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  175 

and  their  hope  mall  be  as  the  giving  up  of  the  ghoft. 
His  confidence,  mall  be  rooted  out  of  his  taberna- 
cle, and  it  fhall  bring  him  to  the  king  of  terrors. 
For  what  is  the  hope  of  the  wicked,  though  he 
hath  gained,  when  God  taketh  away  his  foul  ? 
Will  God  hear  his  cry,  when  trouble  cometh  up- 
on him  ?  He  that  being  often  reproved,  hardeneth 
his  neck,  fhall  fuddenly  be  deffroyed,  and  that 
without  remedy.  "When  a  wicked  man  dieth,  his 
expectation  fhall  perifh  ;  and  the  hope  of  unjuft 
men  penfheth.  Becaufe  I  have  called,  and  ye  have 
refufed  ;  I  have  flretched  out  my  hand,  and  no  man 
regarded  :  But  ye  have  fet  at  nought  all  my  coun- 
fel,  and  would  none  of  my  reproof:  I  alfo  will 
laugh  at  your  calamity,  I  will  mock  when  your 
fear  cometh  ;  When  your  fear  cometh  as  defola- 
tion,  and  your  deftrudtion  cometh  as  a  whirlwind; 
when  diftrefs  and  anguifh.  come  upon  you :  Then 
fhall  they  call  upon  me,  but  I  will  not  anfwer  ; 
they  fhall  feek  me  early,  but  they  fhall  not  find 
me :  For  that  they  hated  knowledge,  and  did  not 
choofe  the  fear  of  Jehovah.  They  would  none 
of  my  counfel :  they  defpifed  all  my  reproof. 
Therefore  fhall  they  eat  of  the  fruit  of  their  own 
way,  and  be  filled  with  their  own  devices/  Prov. 
x.  28.  Job  viii.  13,  14,  15,  xx.  27.  xi.  20.  xviii. 
14.  xxvii.  8,  9.  Prov.  xxix.  1.  xi.  7.  i.  24 — 31. 
Thefe,  and  abundance  of  other  fimilar  pafTages, 
declare  the  future  itate  of  the  wicked  to  be  defpe- 
rate,  without  hope  ;  they  and  their  hopes  perifti 
together,  as  the  fpider's  web ;  they  have  no  hopes 
or  profpect  of  being  redeemed  ;  they  can  look  for 
nothing  but  judgment  and  fiery  indignation,  which 
fhall  devour  them  as  flubble  fully  dry,  and  as  thorns 
cut  up  fhall  they  be  burned  in  the  fire.  Solomon 
H  4  fays, 


1  7'^  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

Jays,  *  The  expectation  of  the  wicked  is  wrath/ 
Prov.  xi.  23.  'As  he  loved  curling,  fo  (hall  it 
come  unto  him  :  as  he  delighted  not  in  blefling,  fo 
fhall  it  be  far  from  him.  As  he  cioathed  himfelf 
with  curfing,  like  as  with  his  garment ;  fo  mall  it 
come  into  his  bowels  like  water,  and  like  oil  into 
his  bones/  Pfal.  cix.  17,  18,  Indeed  he  can  have 
no  hopes,  when  he  confiders  that  he  hath  neglect- 
ed fo  great  a  falvation  all  his  life ;  that  he  hath  fet 
at  nought  God's  counfeis,  defpifed  his  reproofs  : 
that  when  his  Creator  called  to  him  to  turn,  he 
had  no  ears  to  hear  his  voice  \  and  therefore,  when 
forrow  (hall  overtake,  though  he  may  cry,  he  (hall 
not  be  regarded  of  God  ;  and  though  he  may  leek, 
he  mall  not  find  :  the  Mailer  of  the  houfe  having 
rifen  up,  and  (hut  to  the  door,  all  knocking  for 
entrance  is  in  vain,  even  though  fuch  were  to  plead- 
for  admittance  in  the  moil  earneft  manner,  laying, 
1  Lord,  Lord,  open  to  us  •,'  he  (hall  anfwer,  *  I 
know  you  not  whence  you  are  j'  and  though  they 
may  reiterate,  and  expoftulate,  faying,  '  We  have 
eaten  and  drank  in  thy  prefence,  and  thou  haft 
taught  in  our  ftreets  •,'  he  (hall  not  be  moved,  but 
mall  fay  to  them,  c  I  tell  yon,  I  know  you  not 
whence  you  are  •,  depart  from  me,  all  ye  workers 
of  iniquity.  There  (hall  be  weeping,  and  gnafhing 
of  teeth,  when  they  fhall  fee  Abraham,  and  Iliac, 
and  Jacob,  and  all  the  prophets,  in  the  kingdom  of 
God,  and  they  themielves  thruft  out.'  St.  Luke 
xiii.  25,  26,  27,  28.  See  alfo,  St.  Matth.  vii.  21, 
22,  23,  xxv.  11,  12. 

Minijler.  Thefe  are  awful  warnings,  indeed  ; 
and  were  they  attended  to  as  they  ought  to  be, 
would  be  fufficient,  one  would  think,  to  deter  men 
from  their  evil  ways  :  I  am  glad  that  you  have 

dated 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  I  77 

ftated  them  in  this  moft  linking  point  of  light  ; 
for  though  they  form  no  real  objection  to  my  views 
of  God's  dealing  with  men,  as  I  underftand  the 
Scriptures,  they  are  an  infuperable  bar  to  the 
opinions  of  thole  who  deny  a  future  ftate  of  retri- 
bution, which  I  think  impoiTible  for  them  to  an- 
iwer  fairly.  I  (hall,  however,  notice  briefly, 
fome  things  in  this  collection  of  Scriptures,  in  or- 
der that  my  fentiments  may  appear  in  their  true 
light. 

1.  All  the  hopes  of  the  wicked,  ungodly,  and 
hypocrites,  fhall  perifh  at  their  death. 

Perhaps  they  hoped  to  have  lived  long,  to 
have  enjoyed  health,  wealth,  pkafure,  and  all 
worldly  good,  for  many  years ;  to  have  feen 
their  children  for  many  generations,  flourifhing 
for  a  long  time  on  earth  ;  but  death  deftroys  thele 
hopes. 

The  hypocrites  might  have  hoped  that  they  mould 
have  been  accepted  with  God,  on  the  account  of 
their  birth,  parentage,  profeflion,  rank  among  the 
people  of  God,  obiervation  of  the  externals  of  re- 
ligion, &c.  &c.  all  of  which  vain  hopes  do  certain- 
ly perim  at  death. 

The  profane  and  wicked  infidel,  and  practical 
atbeilt,  might  have  hoped,  either  to  have  ceafed 
to  exift ,  or  to  have  found  fome  way  of  efcaping  the 
threatened  punifhment ;  but  death  deftroys  thele 
hopes  alio. 

2.  Whatever  may  be  the  final  intention  of  God 
towards  thefe  miferable  creatures,  it  is  evident 
they  are  (hut  up  in  a  ftate  of  keen  tormenting  def- 
pair,  or  dreadful  fuipenfe,  and  may  be  fully  per- 
fuaded  that  they  (hall  never  be  releafed,of  which  it 
is  likely  thty  may  not  have  even  the  moft  diftant 

H  5  hope, 


I7&  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

hope,  or  the  lead  degree  of  knowledge — but,  on 
the  contrary,  be  in  fearful  expectation  of  more 
terrible  punimment  hereafter. 

3.  As  they  have  lived  and  died  in  fin,  their  de- 
duction, or  mifery,  is  certain — and  there  is  no 
remedy,  that  can  prevent  their  experiencing  the 
confequences  of  their  crimes,  andfuffering  thejuft 
punifhment  which  (hall  be  inflicted  on  them,  ac- 
cording to  their  different  deferts. 

4.  They  who  live  and  die  in  rebellion  againft 
God,  will  be  eternally  deprived  of  the  glories  and 
honours  of  the  kingdom  of  Chrijl>  which  other- 
wife  they  might  have  poiTefled  ;  will  be  excluded 
from  a  (hare  in  the  firft  refurreclion,  and  will  be 
expofed  to  fuffer  the  torments  of  the  fecond  death  ; 
which  all  mult  inevitably  fuffer,  who  remain  incor- 
rigible till  the  great  day  of  judgment. 

5.  As  God  hath  called,  and  they  have  refufed, 
it  is  but  reafonable  to  fuppoie,  that  they,  in  their 
turn,  (hall  cry  in  vain  :  yet  neverthelefs,  though 
he  may  long  delay,  he  may  hear  their  cries,  and 
deliver  them  at  lafh  See  Pfal.  cvii.  13,  14,  15, 
16. 

David,  in  Pfalm  xxxivth  fays,  *  The  face  of  Je- 
hovah is  againft  them  that  do  evil,  to  cut  off  the 
remembi  ance  of  them  from  the  earth.'  Our  trans- 
lators not  underftanding,  or  not  entertaining  an 
idea  of  the  future  Reftoration,  add,  *  The  righte- 
ous cry,  and  Jehovah  heareth,  and  delivereth 
them  out  of  all  their  troubles.'  Whereas  the  Holy 
Ghoft  has  put  no  fuch  words  as  the  righteous  into 
the  text  there  \  but  after  faying,  that  the  face  of 
Jehovah  is  againft  them  that  do  evil,  to  deftroy 
them  out  of  the  world,  and  to  make  them  forgot- 
ten, and  their  names,  to  ceafeupon  the  earth, it  adds 

a 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  179 

a  word  that  fignifies  crying,  and  then  fays,  c  And 
Jehovah  heareth,  and  delivered!  them  out  of  all 
their  troubles  :'  See  ver.  16,  17.  This  feems,  in- 
deed, like  the  docVine  of  the  Bible,  which  elie- 
where  fays,  fpeaking  of  the  notoriouily  wicked ; 
«  O  my  God,  make  them  like  a  wheel :  as  the  ftub- 
bie  before  the  wind.  As  the  fire  burneth  the  wood, 
and  as  the  flame  fetteth  the  mountains  on  fiie ;  fo 
perfecute  them  with  thy  tempeft,  and  make  them 
afraid  with  thy  ftorm.  Fill  their  faces  with  fhame, 
that  they  may  feek  thy  name,  O  Jehovah.  Let 
them  be  confounded,  and  troubled  for  ever ;  yea, 
let  them  be  put  to  fhame,  and  perifh.  And  they 
fhall  know  (as  the  Hebrew  word  fignifies,  and  as 
it  is  rendered  in  the  old  translation)  *  that  thou, 
whofe  name  alone  is  Jehovah,  art  the  Molt  High 

over  all  the  earth,'  Pfal.  lxxxiii.  1 3 — 18. Here 

we  fee,  in  a  beautiful  and  clear  manner,  that  one 
grand  defign  of  God  in  bringing  judgments,  and 
even  what  is  called  utter  deftrucYion,  upon  men,  is 
that  they  may  know  that  he  is  Jehovah,  the  true 
God  :  and  there  are  but  few  intelligent  Chriitians, 
but  mult,  in  fome  meafure,  be  able  to  conceive 
hopes  concerning  all  thole  to  whom  the  knowledge 
of  God  is  promiied. 

Though  the  threatenings  in  the  prophecy  of 
Ezekiel,  both  againft  the  Jews  and  other  nations, 
are  uncommonly  levere  ;  yet  they  frequently  clofe 
with  this  gracious  promife — *  And  they  mail  know 
that  I  am  Jehovah' — or  fomething  fimilar  ;  as 
will  evidently  appear  to  thofe  who  will  be  at  the 
pains  of  examining  the  following  paflages  in  that 
book. 

Ezekiel,  vi.  7,  10,  13,  14.  vii.  4,  9,  27.  xi.  ic, 
12.  xii.  15,  16,  20;  x'm.  9,  14,  21,  23.  xiv.  8. 

xv. 


l80  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

xv.  7.     xvi.  62.     xx.  12,  20,  26,  38,  42,  44. 

xxii.  16.     xxiii.  49.     xxiv.  24,  27.    xxv.  5,  7, 

11,  17.  xxvi.  6.  xxviii.  22,  23,  24,  26.    xxix. 

6,  9,  16,  21.  xxx.  8,   19,  25,  26.  xxxii.  15. 

xxxiii.  29.     xxxiv.  27.     xxxv.  4,   9,  12,  i<. 

xxxvi.  11,  23,  38.  xxxvii.  6,   13.  xxxviii.  23. 

xxxix.  6,  7,  22,  28. 

Friend.  But  docs  not  punifhment  harden  and 
inflame  offenders,  inftead  of  foftening  and  hum- 
bling them  ?  As  we  read,  Ifa.  viii,  21.  *  They  (hall 
curfe  their  King  and  their  God,  and  look  upward  :' 
and,  in  Rev.  xvi.  9,  10,  11.  «  And  men  were 
icorched  with  great  heat,  and  blafphemed  the  name 
of  God,  which  hath  power  over  thefe  plagues  : 
and  they  repented  not  to  give  him  glory.  And 
they  gnawed  their  tongues  for  pain,  and  blaf- 
phemed the  God  of  Heaven,  becaufe  of  their 
pains  and  their  fores  •,  and  repented  not  of  their 
deeds.' 

Minlfler.  Punifhment,  to  a  certain  degree,  in- 
flames and  enrages,  in  a  mod  amafing  manner; 
but  continued  longer,  and  heavier,  produces  a  con- 
trary effect — foftens,  humbles,  and  fubdues.  When 
Ephraim,  of  old,  bemoaned  himfelf,  he  laid  thus  : 
— c  Thou  hait  chaftifed  me,  and  I  was  chaftifed, 
as  a  bullock  unaccuftomed  to  the  yoke  ;  turn  thou 
me,  and  I  fhall  be  turned  ;  for  thou  art  Jehovah, 
my  God/  Jer.  xxxi.  18.  The  metaphor  here  ufed, 
expreffes,  in  a  molt  lively  manner,  the  different 
effects  of  the  fame  difcipline,  in  its  beginning, 
progrefs,  and  end.  When  a  bullock  firft  has  the 
yoke  laid  on  his  neck,  he  frets,  toffes,  and  rages 
exceedingly,  but,  by  a  continuance  of  the  dilci- 
pline,  he  is  fubdued,  brought  down,  humbled, 
and  tamed,  fo  as  to  become  the  moft  ufeful  and 

gentle 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  l3f 

gentle  of  animals.  The  fons  of  Zion  are  repre- 
iented  as  lying  •  at  the  head  of  all  the  ftreets,  as 
a  wild  bull  in  a  net ;  full  of  the  fury  of  Jehovah, 
the  rebuke  of  God,'  Ilai.  li.  20.  A  wild  bull,  in 
a  net,  muff  be  a  furious  creature  ;  fo  are  men, 
when  tirft  they  are  brought  under  the  Divine  cor- 
rection. But  God  knows  how  to  correct:  men,  in 
fuch  a  manner  as  to  bring  them  to  fubmit  to  him, 
in  due  time  •,  and  though  fome  are  fo  funk  in  fin  as 
not  to  be  reformed,  by  any  means,  in  this  life  ; 
yet  that  is  no  argument,  that  God  is  not  able  to 
iubdue  and  bring  down  the  proud  and  moft  rebel- 
lious, in  another  ftate,  by  means  that  may  be  ufed 
effectually  there,  though  they  could  not  be  ufed 
here.  God  fays,  by  the  prophet  to  Ifrael.  *  Be- 
caufe  I  have  purged  thee,  and  thou  waft  not  purg- 
ed, thou  (halt  not  be  purged  from  thy  filthinefs 
any  more  till  I  have  caufed  my  fury  to  reft  upon 
thee.  So  will  I  make  my  fury  towards  thee  to  reft, 
and  my  jeaioufy  mail  depart  from  thee  ;  and  I  will 
be  quiet,  and  will  be  no  more  angry,'  Ezek.  xxiv. 
13.  xvi.  42.  Some  fins  arefo  daring  and  prefump- 
tuous,  as  to  provoke  God  to  threaten,  that  they 
fhall  not  be  purged  away  in  this  life-,  and,  perhaps, 
their  malignancy  may  be  fo  great,  that  nothing  that 
can  be  ufed  here,  is  able  to  iubdue  them  :  Thus, 
when  God  threatened  his  people,  of  old,  with 
deftruction,  they  turned  his  threatenings  into  ridi- 
cule :  inftead  of  weeping,  mourning,  baldnefs,  and 
girding  with  fackcloth,  to  which  God  called  them  ^ 
there  was  nothing  but  <  joy  and  gladnefs,  flaying 
oxen,  and  killing  fheep,  eating  flefh,  and  drinking 
wine :  Let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow  we 
d'e.  And  it  was  revealed  in  mine  ears,  by  Jeho- 
vah of  Hofts,  Surely,  this  iniquity  fhall  not  be 

purged 


l82  DIALOGUES    ON   THE 

purged  from  you  till  ye  die,  faith  Jehovah,  God 
of  Ifrael/  Ifai.  xxii.  12,  13,  14. 

Thus,  punifhments  are  defigned  for  the  humb- 
ling of  the  proud :  but  if  they  fail  of  anfwering 
that  purpofe,  as  adminiftered  in  the  prefent  ftate, 
they  will  be  continued  and  increafed  in  future  pe- 
riods, to  fuch  a  degree,  as  fhall  bring  all  down  in 
due  time.  Thofe  pains  which  produced  that  rage 
and  blafphemy  which  you  mentioned,  were  all 
poured  out  on  hardened  finners  in  the  prefent  life  ; 
and  were  f©  terrible  and  fevere  as  to  produce 
thofe  fearful  effects,  but  not  fufficiently  fo  as  to 
produce  the  contrary. 

That  punifhment,  to  a  certain  degree,  produces 
rage,  but  to  a  certain  degree  beyond,  produces 
fubmiflion  •,  may  be  illuftrated  by  the  follow- 
ing fact,  as  well  as  many  others,  of  the  fame 
nature. 

In  the  former  war  between  England  and  France, 

there  was  one  Mr.   — ,    of   Virginia, 

who  was  waggon-malter-gencral  in  the  army  of 
the  Provincials.  He  was  guilty  of  abufing  his 
power,  by  frequently  (Inking  the  foldiers  with  his 
waggon-whip.  Complaint  being  made,  a  court- 
martial  was  held,  and  he  was  fentenced  to  receive 
five  hundred  lames  ;  which  fentence  was  executed 
upon  him.  When  firft  he  began  to  feel  the  lafti, 
he  was  exceedingly  enraged,  and  curfed  thofe  who 
had  thus  fentenced  him  -,  fwearing,  that  if  he  lived 
to  be  releafed,  he  would  kill  them  all,  if  poflible  ; 
for  that  he  valued  not  his  life,  in  the  lead,  but 
would  revenge  this  difgrace,  by  killing  them, 
wherever  he  found  themj  and  much  more,  to  the 
fame  purpofe.  But,  before  he  had  received  half 
his  punifhment,  he  declared,  that  he  had  not  the 

leait 


UNIVERSAL  RESTORATION  18} 

leaft  difpofition  to  lift  his  hand  againff,  them ;  he 
faw  clearly  that  they  had  acted  right ;  that  he  had 
been  entirely  to  blame ;  and  that  his  punifhment 
was  juft.  After  his  correction  was  over,  he  was 
led  quietly  away,  entirely  cured  of  all  his  rage  ; 
from  which  he  was  as  much  freed  by  his  punifh- 
ment, as  ever  an  effect,  was  produced  by  a  caufe. 
He  was  healed  of  his  wounds,  and,  I  think,  reftor- 
ed  to  his  poft. — Some  time  after  the  war  was  over, 
he  was  palling  one  day  over  thofe  mountains  in 
Virginia,  commonly  called  The  Blue  Ridge  ;  and 
there  he  met  alone  one  of  the  men  who  had  con- 
demned him,  in  the  court-martial,  to  fuch  a  pu- 
nifhment. He  put  him  in  mind  of  it  *,  and  told 
him,  that  it  was  now  in  his  power  to  retaliate  up- 
on him.     The  other  acknowledged  that  he  was  in 

his  power  ;  but  added,  '  M ,  you  know  you 

did  wrong,  and  deferved  the  punifhment  you  re- 
ceived •,  and  if  you  kill  me,  I  declare,  that  we  did 
right  in  fentencing  you  to  be  whipped  ;  I  mould  do 
the  fame,  were  it  to  do  again  j  and  fo  would  you 

have  done,  had  you  been  in  my  place.'  Mr.  M 

acknowledged  the  truth  of  it  •,  and  was  fo  far  from 
fulfilling  his  threatenings,  that  he  fuffered  him  to 
go  in  peace,  highly  commending  him  for  his  con- 
duct.    Mr.  M may  be  ftill  living  :  he  was  a 

general  in  the  American  army  during  the  late  war, 
and  acquired  great  honour,  for  his  valour  and 
good  conduct. 

This  I  think  is  an  argument  ad  hominem.  I  have 
often  oblerved  inftances  of  the  fame  nature,  in  a 
lefs  degree ;  and  I  think  it  mufl  be  admitted,  that 
although  a  certain  degree  of  punifhment  will  en 
flame,  harden,  and  enrage ;  yet,  farther  degrees 
produce  quite  contrary  efftcis.  Nor  is  punifh- 
ment 


I84  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

ment  the  only  thing  in  nature  that  produces  con- 
trary effects,  according  to  the  quantity  ufed  ;  al- 
moft  all  things  do  the  fame.  Thus,  water,  with  a 
little  fait  in  it,  will  caufe  putrefaction,  much  foon- 
er  than  perfectly  frefh  water  ;  but  let  it  be  fatura- 
ted  with  fait,  and  it  will  preferve  bodies  that  are 
caft  therein.  A  little  fait  calt  on  the  earth  is 
good  manure,  and  caufes  fruitfulnefs  ;  but  a  great- 
er quantity  produces  the  contrary  effect,  by  cauf- 
ing  barrennefs.  A  little  wine  refreshes,  cheers, 
invigorates  ;  but,  taken  to  excels,  ftupifies  and  in- 
toxicates. And,  to  mention  no  more  inftances,  a 
little  {mattering  of  knowledge  puffs  up  the  mind  \ 
but  a  greater  degree,  humbles  and  brings  it  down  : 
From  whence, 

*  Drink  deep,  or  never  tcjle  the  Jpring.' 

Friend.  But  let  me  afk  you  :  When  you  view  the 
miferable  ftate  of  fallen  men,  the  inveterate  obiVi- 
nacy  of  their  wills,  the  total  averfion  that  many 
have  to  God  and  goodnefs,  their  confirmed  habits 
of  evil,  their  amazing  love  of  vice,  their  oppofi- 
tion  to  every  method  taken  to  reclaim  them,  and 
a  thoufand  other  dreadful  circurnftances,  which 
you  mufl  have  obfen  c ■■:!  -,  are  you  not  ready  to  def- 
pair  of  their  recovery  ?  not  for  any  want  of  good- 
nefs in  God,  but  through  their  total  incapacity  of 
ever  being  made  better. 

Minijler.  I  muft  confefs,  this  objection  has  great 
weight ;  and  I  have  often  been  ready  to  give  up 
my  own  falvation,  on  account  of  the  evils  of  my 
own  heart,  which  lometimes  rife,  and  prevail  in 
fuch  a  manner,  as  almoft  drives  me  to  defpair : 
and  I  can  find  no  relief,  but  by  flying  to  Jefusy  as 

my 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  185 

my  only  refuge,  and  trufting  in  his  promifes :  And 
the  cafe  is  the  fame  with  rcfpecl  to  the  Refroration 
of  all  men.  My  weak  reafon  tells  me,  that  it  can- 
not be  j  that  it  is  abioiateiv  impofiibie,  that  luch 
hardened  rebels  can  be  fo  changed  to  eternity,  as 
to  become  willing  and  obedient  iubjects  :  but  when 
faith  prevails,  it  informs  me,  that  the  things 
which  are  impofiible  with  men,  are  pofiibie  with 
God  •,  that  nothing  is  too  hard  for  Jehovah  ;  and 
that  he  hath  faid — '  Beheld,  I  am  Jehovah,  the 
the  God  of  all  flefh :  is  there  any  thing  too  hard 
for  mer'  Jer.  xxxii.  27.  And  the  example  of  A- 
braham  has  often  proved  a  great  fupport  to  me 
in  this  caie  ;  f  who,  againfr.  hope,  believed  in  hope, 
that  he  might  become  the  father  of  many  nations  ; 
according  to  that  which  was  ipoken>  So  fhall  thy 
feed  be:  and  being  not  weak  in  faith,  he  consi- 
dered not"  the  impediments,  which*  to  the  eye  of 
reafon,  rendered  the  accomplifhment  of  the  pro- 
mifes improbable,  if  not  im pofiibie.  (  He  dag- 
gered not  at  the  promife  of  God,  through  unbe- 
lief; but  was  Itrong  in  faith,  giving  glory  to 
God  :  And  being  fully  periuaJed  that  what  he 
had  promifed,  he  was  able  alio  to  perform,'  Rom. 
iv.    18,  19,  2C,  21. 

This  is  the  only  way  I  anfwer  this  objection  to 
my  ownfatisfac~tion — God  hath  lworn,  that  to  him 
every  knee  fhall  bow,  every  tongue  mail  fwear, 
Ifai.  xlv.  23. — That  in  the  name  of  Jcfusy  every 
knee  fhall  bow,  of  things  in  heaven,  things  on 
earth,  and  things  under  the  earth:  and  that  every 
tongue  fhall  confefs,  that  Jefus  Chrijl  is  Lord,  to 
the  glory  of  God  the. Father,  Phil.  ii.  10,  n.  That 
it  is  the  myftery  ol  his  will,  according  to  his  good 

pleafure 


l86  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

pleafure,  which  he  hath  purpofed  in  himfelf,  in 
the  difpenfation  of  the  fulnefs  of  the  times,  to  ga- 
ther together,  or  rehead,  in  one,  all  things  in  Chrijl; 
both  which  are  in  heaven,  and  which  are  on  earth  ; 
even  in  him,  Ephef.  i.  9,  10, — And  having  made 
peace  through  the  blood  of  his  crofs,  he  is  deter- 
mined to  reconcile  all  things  unto  himfelf  •,  whe- 
ther things  in  heaven,  or  things  on  earth,  Col.  i. 
20. — That  he  worketh  all  things  after  the  coun- 
fel  of  his  own  will,  Ephef.  i.  n.-^That  he  will 
have  all  men  to  be  faved,  or  reftored,  and  to  come 
unto  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  1  Tim.  ii.  6. — 
That  the  Father  loveth  the  Son,  and  hath  given 
all  things  into  his  hands,  St.  John  iii.  35. — And 
that  Chrijl  hath  faid,  «  All  that  the  Father  giveth 
me,  fhall  come  unto  me ;  and  him  that  cometh 
unto  me,  I  will  in  no  wife  caff  out,'  St.  John  vi. 
37. — When  I  confider  thefe,  and  many  fueh  like 
promifes,  which  I  find  in  the  Scriptures ;  and  that 
he  that  hath  promifed,  is  able  to  perform  •,  hath 
wifdom,  power,  and  goodnefs,  fufficient  to  ac- 
complifh  all  his  words,  how  difficult  or  impofiible 
foever  the  matter  may  feem,  to  our  carnal,  vain, 
and  weak  reafoning  ;  I  caff  the  whole  of  my  con- 
cern upon  him  •,  judging,  that  he  is  faithful  who 
hath  promifed,  and  that,  in  his  own  time,  he  will 
fulfil  all  his  purpofes,  and  all  his  promifes.  But 
I  confefs  to  you,  that  it  requiies  a  faith,  if  poffi- 
ble,  more  ftrong  than  that  of  Abraham,  to  believe 
the  doctrine  of  the  Reftoration  ftedfaftly,  in  the 
midft  of  fo  much  evil  as  prevails  in  the  world,  and 
which  feems  to  render  it  impofiible :  But  my  only 
hope  is  in  God. 

But,  to  encourage  us  the  more,  there  are  not 
only  promifes  of  what  God  will  do,  but  examples 

of 


UNIVERSAL  RESTORATION.        tSj 

of  what  he  hath  done,  recorded  in  Scripture ,  as 
the  cafes  of  ManaJJeh,  Nebuchadnezzar,  Mary  Mag- 
dalen, Saul,  and  many  of  the  murderers  of  our 
Lord,  priefts,  and  even  Pharifees,  are  left  on  re- 
cord, as  patterns  of  God's  long-fufFering,  power, 
mercy,  and  love. — And  I  would  advife  thofe  Chri£- 
tians  that  doubt  of  the  univerfal  Reconciliation  of 
all  things,  to  remember  St.  Paul's  words  to  the 
Colo/Iians,  on  this  fubjec*t,  chap.  i.  21.  *  And 
you  that  were  fome  time  alienated,  and  enemies 
in  your  mind,  by  wicked  works,  yet  now  hath  he 
reconciled  •,'  as  a  proof  and  example  of  his  power 
to  reconcile  all  things.  Let  all  remember  their 
own  ftubbornnefs ;  and  then,  inftead  of  reviling 
and  deriding  a  truth  which  God  has  revealed, 
they  will  adore  him,  of  whom,  through  whom, 
and  to  whom,  are  all  things  ;  who  '  doeth  accord- 
ing to  his  will  in  the  army  of  heaven,  and  among 
the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  •,  and  none  can  ftay 
his  hand,  or  fay  unto  him,  What  doeft  thou  ?' 
Rom.  xi.  36.  Dan.  iv.  35. 

Friend.  But  allowing  that  God  has  power  to 
change  the  hearts  of  the  vileft  of  men,  is  not  the 
exercife  of  that  power  evidently  limited  ?  for  I  find 
it  written  in  Rev.  xxii.  11. — *  He  that  is  unjuft, 
let  him  be  unjuft  ftill ;  and  he  that  is  filthy,  let 
him  be  filthy  ftill ;  and  he  that  is  righteous,  let 
him  be  righteous  ftill ;  and  he  that  is  holy,  let 
him  be  holy  ftill.'  By  thefe  words  it  feems  to 
be  intimated,  that  the  characters  of  both  the 
wicked  and  the  righteous,  (hall  at  fome  period  be 
fo  confirmed  and  fixed,  as  to  admit  of  no  change 
or  alteration. 

Minj/ter.  This  appears  to  be  a  confiderable  dif- 
ficulty, but  can  by  no  means  overthrow  the  fyftem 

of 


l88  DIALOGUES    ON     THE 

of  the  Re  Iteration,  which  feems  eitablifhed  upon 
many  gracious  promiies.  The  words  leem  to  re- 
fer to  a  particular  period,  even  when  the  Lord 
fhall  come,  and  mew  that  his  coming  will  not,  (as 
fome  fuppofe)  change  the  characters  of  men  •,  but 
that  all  (hall  conrinue,  for  a  certain  time,  in  the 
fame  character  as  before.  But,  though  '  he  that 
is  unjuft,  mall  be  unjuft  frill;  and  he  that  is  fil- 
thy, mail  be  filthy  ftili' — during  the  age  of  judg- 
ment ;  and  fhall  have  the  dreadful  curie  pronoun- 
ced upon  him ;  for,  c  If  any  man  love  not  the 
Lord  Jefus  Chrift,  let  him  be  anathema,  Maran- 
atha  :  that  is,  Accurfed,  the  Lord  cometh  :  I  Cor. 
xvi.  22.  Yet  I  truft  that  I  have  proved,  that 
the  vileft  fhall  be  finally  changed  ;  and  confequent- 
ly,  that  thefe  words  muft  be  underitood  with 
fome  limitation.  And  thus  though  this  text  is 
plainly  contrary  to  the  opinion  of  thofe  who  fup- 
pofe that  all  the  human  race  fhall  be  admitted  in- 
to the  kingdom  of  heaven  at  the  day  of  judgment, 
yet  it  may  be  well  reconciled  to  the  fyltem  laid 
down  in  thefe  Dialogues  ♦,  efpecially  if  it  can  be 
proved  that  flmilar  expreilions  are  ufed,  where  a 
limitation  is  fuppofed,  or  neecliarily  implied. 

Friend.  Yes  *,  if  you  can  find  fimilar  exprcflions 
ufed  for  limited  times,  it  will  be  fatisfactory. 

Mmijlcr.  St.  Paul  lays,  i  Cor.  xiv.  38.  <  But 
if  any  man  be  ignorant,  let  him  him  be  ignorant :' 
But  we  can  hardly  fuppofe  that  he  meant  without 
limitation.  So  we  read  of  the  Jews,  that  *  God 
hath  given  them  the  fpirit  of  flumber-  eyes  that 
they  fhould   not  fee,  and   ears   that  they   fhould 

not  hear,  unto  this  day.'     And  David  faith  ; 

*  Let  their  table  be  made  a  lhare,  and  a  trap,  and 
a  ftumbling-block,  and  a  recompence  unto  them. 

Let 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  I89 

Let  their  eyes  be  darkened  that  they  mould  not 
fee,  and  bow  down  their  back  alway,'  Rom.  xi. 
8,  9,  10.  Thele  expreffions  of  their  remaining 
in  a  blinded,  hardened,  and  reprobate  ftate,  are 
ftronger  than  thole — *  He  that  is  unjuft  let  him  be 
unjuft  ftill,  &c.  for,  inftead  of  Jlill,  the  word  al- 
<way  is  ufed ;  and  yet  we  are  informed,  that    this 

*  blindnefs  in  part  has  (only)  happened  to  Ifrael, 
until  the  fulnefs  of  the  Gentiles  be  come  in  :  And 
fo  all  Ifrael  mail  be  faved.'  And  that  *  God  hath 
concluded  them  all  (or,  (hut  them  up  together)  in 
unbelief,  that  he  might  have  mercy  upon  all/ 
even  all  whom  he  had  (hut  up,  or  concluded  in 
unbelief.     And,  as  I  obferved  before,  David  lays  ; 

*  Fill  their  faces  with  fhame,  that  they  may  feek 
thy  name,  O  Jehovah.  Let  them  be  confounded 
and  troubled  for  ever :  yea,  let  them  be  put  fhame, 
and  perim  \  That  they  may  know  that  thou  whofe 
name  alone  is  Jehovah,  art  the  Moft  High  over 
all  the  earth/  Pfal.  lxxxiii.  16,  17,  1 8.  Many 
other  fimilar  pafTages  might  be  mentioned;  but 
thefe  may  fuffice,  to  fhew,  that  often  where  the 
words  Let  It,  or  Let  them  be,  in  fuch-and-fuch  a 
ftate,  they  only  intend  a  certain  period,  until  ano- 
ther difpeniation  takes  place.  As  for  righteouf- 
nefs,  holinefs,  and  happinefs,  they  have  quite  a 
different  foundation  from-  fin  and  impurity,  as  I 
have  (he wn  before  ;  and  therefore,  no  arguments 
ufed  in  favour  of  the  total  deftrufrion  of  evil,  can, 
in  the  leaft,  prove,  that  goodnefs,  which  is  the  Di- 
vine eiTence,  (hall  ceafe ;  but  the  contrary :  and 
thofe  who  are  firmly  joined  to  the  Lord,  and  have 
continued  with  him  through  the  ftate  of  temptation, 
mall  never  ceafe  to  be  righteous,  nor  be  feparated 
from  their  Head,    from  whom  they  fhall  derive 

eternal 


t^O  BIALOGUES   ON   THE 

eternal  life :  for  Christ  hath  faid,  €  Becaufe  I 
live,  ye  fhalllive alfo.'  St.  John  xiv.  19. 

Christ,  at  his  coming,  will  bring  every  hidden 
thing  to  light,  and  fhall  take  off  all  difguifes  ;  Co 
that  he  that  is  unjuft,  fhall  appear  unjuft  5  and  he 
that  is  filthy,  fhall  be  difcovered  :  hypocrify  fhall 
be  no  more.  c  The  vile  perfon  fhall  be  no  more 
called  liberal,  nor  the  churl  laid  to  be  bountiful,' 
Ifai  xxxii.  5.  c  Then  fhall  ye  return,  and  difcern 
between  the  righteous  and  the  wicked ;  and  be- 
tween him  that  ferveth  God,  and  him  that  ferv- 
eth  him  not,'  Mai.  iii.  18.  The  judgment  of  God 
is  according  to  truth,  and  is  defigned  to  make  an 
entire  difcovery  of  all  perfons,  and  all  fecret 
things,  *  that  every  mouth  may  be  flopped,  and 
all  the  world  may  become  guilty  before  God,' 
Rom.  iii.  19.  But  though  judgment  has  its  great 
ufe  in  difcovering,  laying  open,  convincing, 
and  condemning  ;  and  punifhment,  in  deflroying, 
fubduing,  and  humbling ;  yet  the  powerful,  fav- 
ing  grace  of  God,  and  the  operation  of  the  di- 
vine Spirit,  muff  have  the  glory  of  reftoring,  or 
creating  men  anew  \  and  the  blood  of  Jesus  muft 
cleanfe  their  fouls  from  the  guilt  and  pollution  of 
fin.  Evil  muft  be  deftroyed  out  of  them  :  this  is 
done  by  afflictions ;  and  goodnefs  mull:  be  reftor- 
ed ;  this  is  done  by  God's  renewing  power  and 
grace. 

But  the  objection  may  be  anfwered  another  way, 
without  any  of  this  reafoning,  by  confidering  the 
fubject  comparatively.  Thus  :  As  God  only  is 
holy  ;  as  none  are  good  but  he,  in  an  abfolute 
fenfe  ;  as  he  putteth  no  trull:  in  his  holy  ones,  and 
the  heavens  are  not  clean  in  his  fight,  and  his  an- 
gels he  charged  with  folly;  (See  Job  xv.  15.  iv. 

18.) 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  I9I 

18.)  and  as  all  intelligences,  compared  with  him, 
are  unjuft  and  unclean  ;  fo,  thofe  who  have  lived 
and  died  in  rebellion  againft  God,  and  in  the  pol- 
lution of  fin,  may  remain  unjuft  and  filthy,  com- 
pared with  the  faints,  thofe  vefTels  of  honour  and 
glory,  who  have  purged  themfelves.  '  But  in  a 
great  houfe  there  are  not  only  veflels  of  gold  and 
filver,  but  alfo  of  wood,  and  of  earth  ;  and  fome 
to  honour  and  fome  to  difhonour.  If  a  man, 
therefore,  purge  himfelf  from  thefe  (fins),  he  mail 
be  a  vefTel  of  honour,  fanctified  and  meet  for  the 
mafttr's  ufe,  and  prepared  unto  every  good  work,9 
2  Tim.  ii.  20,  21.  Here  we  may  obferve,  that 
in  our  Lord's  great  houfe  there  fhall  be  divers  vef- 
fels  of  various  kinds,  yet  all  ufeful,  but  fome  more 
highly  fo  than  others  ;  that  honour  and  difhonour 
are  comparative  terms  ;  and  that  the  way  to  be- 
come vefTels  of  the  higheft  honour  at  laft,  is  to 
purge  ourfelves  from  iniquity  while  on  earth,  by 
obeying  the  truth.  For  it  inuft  appear  evident, 
from  the  nature  of  things,  that  there  will  always 
be  an  immenfe  difference  between  thofe  who  fhall 
be  kings  and  priefts  to  God,  and  thofe  who  fhall 
be  fubdued  in  the  ages  to  come,  fo  as  to  be  fub- 
iefts,  but  who  fhall  not  attain  to  that  honour  and 
glory,  which  they  fhall  have  who  fuffer  with 
Chrift  here,  and  fhall  be  glorified  with  him  here- 
after. 

Friend.  Since  I  have  converfed  with  you  I  mud 
acknowledge  that  many  things  have  appeared  in 
a  different  light  from  what  they  did  before  ;  and 
if  I  do  not  wholly  embrace  the  doctrine  of  the 
Reiteration,  I  mull  allow  that  there  is  much  more 
to  be  faid  for  it  than  I  could  have  imagined.  But 
I  have  (till  fome  difficulties  that  I  wifh  to  propofe. 

There 


TOS  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

There  is  a  terrible  threatening,  which  is  indeed 
the  lait  in  the  Bible,  that  I  fhould  be  glad  to  hear 
.your  thoughts  upon,  which  is  thus  exprefTed, 
(Rev.  xxii.  18,  19,)  c  For  I  teftify  unto  every 
man,  that  heareth  the  words  of  the  prophecy  of 
this  book  ;  If  any  man.  (hall  add  unto  thefe  things, 
God  (hall  add  unto  him  the  plagues  that  are  writ- 
ten in  this  book  :  And  if  any  man  fTiall  take  away 
.from  the  words  of  the  book  of  this  prophecy,  God 
fhall  take  away  his  part  out  of  the  book  of  life, 
and  out  of  the  holy  city,  and  from  the  things 
.which  are  written  in  this  book  :'  But  I  can  almoft 
forefee  how  you  will  aniwcr  this ;  that  though  the 
plagues  that  are  written  in  this  book,  {hall  be  add- 
ed, yet  mercy  mall  finally  rejoice  againlt  judg- 
ment j  and  though  a  man's  part  may  be  taken  out 
of  the  book  of  life,  and  he,  in  confequence,  fuf- 
fer  the  torments  of  the  fecond  death  :  yet,  as  the 
time  will  come,  when  there  nhall  be  no  more  death 
of  any  kind,  neither  lbrrow,  nor  crying,  nor  any 
more  pain  •,  his  Reitoration  may  be  certainly  in- 
ferred;  and  though  his  pait  in  the  heavenly  city 
may  be  forfeited,  fo  that  he  may  never  become 
one  of  thole  who  fhall  reign  therein,  nor  yet  have 
a  conftant  dwelling  there ;  he  may,  neverthelefs, 
enter  as  a  worfliipper,  and  a  fubject  of  the  great 
King  -,  and  may  drink  of  the  water  of  life  ;  feed 
on  the  fruits  of  the  tree  of  life,  and  be  healed 
by  its  leaves  ;  and  be  one  of  the  happy  inhabitants 
of  the  new  earth,  which  God  will  create. 

Minifter.  Yes,  my  friend :  But  though  this 
Scripture  may  be  eafdy  reconciled  to  the  plan  laid 
down  in  thefe  dialogues ;  it  contains  fuch  threat- 
enings  as  are  very  terrible  indeed  •,  and  mould  make 
US  exceeding  careful  not  to  contradict  what  God 

1  hath 


UNIVERSAL   RESTORATION.  I93 

hath  here  revealed,  by  adding  vain  interpretati- 
ons of  our  own,  contrary  to  the  fenfe  of  the  text ; 
nor  in  any  wife  to  explain  away,  or  weaken,  the 
force  of  either  the  threatenings  or  promifes,  fet 
forth  in  this  wondrous  book.  The  amazing  tor- 
ments which  they  mall  feel  that  have  thefe  plagues 
added  to  them,  and  the  dreadful  lofs  which  they 
fhall  fuftain  that  have  their  part  taken  out  of  the 
book  of  life,  and  out  of  the  holy  city,  cannot  be 
even  conceived :  And  it  being  poffible  to  forfeit 
this  glorious  portion  entirely,  and  for  ever,  made 
St.  Paul  warn  the  Hebrews  in  fuch  a  folemn  man- 
ner as  he  doth  throughout  the  whole  epiflle. — 
Oh,  what  affecting  advice  is  the  following ! — 
*  Looking  diligently,  left  any  man  fail  of  the  grace 
of  God  j  left  any  root  of  bitternefs,  fpringing  up 
trouble  you,  and  thereby  many  be  defiled  :  Left 
there  be  any  fornicator,  or  profane  perfon,  as 
Efau  •,  who,  for  one  morfel  of  meat,  fold  his 
birthwright.  For  ye  know,  how  that  afterward, 
when  he  would  have  inherited  the  bleffing,  he 
was  rejected :  for  he  found  no  place  of  repent- 
ance, though  he  fought  it  carefully,  with  tears,' 
Heb.  xii.  15,  16,  17. 

1  Poor  Efau  repented  too  /ate, 

1  That  once  he  his  birthright  defpis'd ; 

<  And  fold  for  a  morfel  of  meat, 

(  What  could  not  too  highly  be  priz'd. 

c  How  great  ivas  his  angui/h,  when  told, 
c  The  bleffing  he  fought  to  obtain 

i  1  Fas  gone,  with  the  birthright  he  fold  ; 
*  A 'fid  none  could  recal  it  again  ! 

Thus 


'94  DIALOGUES   GN   THE 

Thus,  though  Efau,  as  well  as  Jacob,  was 
hie/Ted  concerning  things  to  come ;  (See  Heb.  xi. 
20.)  yet  the  birthright,  and  the  particular  bleiT- 
ings  connected  therewith,  he  loft  for  ever  :  And 
fo  it  is  poflible  that  we  may  lofe  our  parts  in  the 
holy  city,  or  no  fuch  threatenings  would  ever  have 
been  made.  For  it  is  a  maxim  with  me — That 
God  never  warns,  where  there  is  no  danger  to 
fear ;  arid  never  encourages  us  to  hope,  where 
there  is  no  poffibility  of  obtaining. 

As  the  glorious  and  univerfal  deliverance  of  all 
men  from  the  bondage  of  fin,  and  their  obtaining 
an  inheritance  in  the  new  earth,  was  clearly  point- 
ed out  by  the  great  year  of  Jubilee,  under  the  law ; 
in  which  every  fervant  went  out  free,  and  every 
man  returned  to  his  poiTeiTion,  and  to  his  family ; 
(See  Lev.  xxv.  ic.)  So,  the  poffibility  of  being 
cut  off  from  the  holy  city,  for  ever,  was  pointed 

out  by  that  notable  exception,  ver.   29,  30. 

'  And  if  a  man  fell  a  dwelling-houfe  in  a  walled 
city,  then  he  may  redeem  it  within  a  whole  year  af- 
ter it  is  fold;  within  a  full  year,  may  he  redeem  it. 
And  if  it  be  not  redeemed  within  the  fpace  of  a 
full  year,  then  the  houfe  that  is  in  the  walled  city 
mall  be  eftablifhed  for  ever  to  him  that  bought 
it,  throughout  his  generations  :  it  mail  not  go  out 
in  the  Jubilee/ 

Something  fimilar  to  this  may  be  found  in  Rev. 
iii.  11. — (  Behold,  I  come  quickly;  hold  that  fail 
which  thou  haft,  that  no  man  take  thy  crown  :' 
And  the  5th  verfe  is  alfo  worthy  of  confideration 
— <  He  that  overcometh,  the  fame  (hall  be  clothed 
in  white  raiment;  and  I  will  not  blot  out  his 
name  out  of  the  book  of  life ;  but  I  will  confefs 
his  name  before  my  Father,  and  before  his  an- 
gels/ 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  I95 

gels.' — O,  what  promifes  are  made  to  overcom- 
ers  !  That  they  mail  eat  of  the  tree  of  life,  which 
is  in  the  midft  of  the  Paradife  of  God  ;  mail  have 
a  crown  of  life ;  and  mall  not  be  hurt  of  the  fe- 
cond  death  ;  mall  eat  of  the  hidden  manna  ;  mail 
have  a  white  (tone,  and  a  new  name,  which  no 
man  knoweth,  faving  he  that  receiveth  it ;  mail 
have  power  over  the  nations,  &c.  even  as  Chrift. 
received  of  the  Father  :  fliall  walk  with  him  in 
white ;  mall  be  efteemed  worthy  to  be  compani- 
ons and  friends  of  God;  fliall  be  clothed  in  white ; 
fhall  have  their  names  enrolled  among  the  follow- 
ers of  the  Lamb,  as  called,  chofen,  and  faithful ; 
mail  be  confefTed  by  the  Son  of  God,  before  his 
Father,  and  the  holy  angels  ;  mail  be  made  pil- 
lars in  the  temple  of  God,  and  mall  go  no  more 
out ;  fliall  have  the  name  of  God  written  upon 
their  foreheads,  and  the  name  of  the  holy  city, 
New  Jerufalem,  and  Chrift 's  new,  heavenly  name  ; 
fhall  fit  with  him  upon  his  throne,  even  as  he  o- 
vercame,  and  is  fet  down  with  the  Father,  upon 
his  throne ;  fhall  inherit  all  things  ;  fliall  be  called 
the  fons  of  God  :  See  Rev.  ii.  7,  10,  11,  17,  26, 
27.  hi.  4,  5,  12,  21.  xvii.  14.  xxi.  7. 

The  apoflle  afTures  us,  that  *  If  (we  are)  chil- 
dren, then  (are  we)  heirs;  heirs  of  God,  and 
joint  heirs  with  Chrift ;  if  lb  be  that  we  fuffer 
with  him,  that  we  may  be  alfo  glorified  together.' 
And  then  adds — '  For  I  reckon  that  the  fufTer- 
ings  of  the  prefent  time,  are  not  worthy  to  be 
compared  with  the  glory  which  fliall  be  revealed 
in  us,'  Rom.  viii.  17,  18.  <  When  Chrift,  who  is 
our  life,  fhall  appear ;  then  mail  ye  (his  faints) 
alfo  appear  with  him  in  glory,'  Col.  iii.  4,  «  We 
know,  that  when  he  fhall  appear,  we  fhall  be  like 
I  2  him  ; 


IC)6  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

him  ;  for  we  mall  fee  him  as  he  is,'  I  John  iii.  2. 
But  let  none  of  thofe  who  believe  themfelves  the 
heirs  of  this  kingdom,  &c.  dare  to  indulge  them- 
felves in  fin,  under  a  notion  that  God  can  never 
caft  them  off;  as  fome  do. 

A  Preacher  whom  I  once  knew,  encouraged 
this  wickedly  prefumptuous  difpofition  fo  far,  as, 
openly,  to  lay :  '  God  cannot  damn  me  :  He  can 
as  foon  ceafe  to  be  God,  as  he  can  caft  me  off: 
even  though  I  mould  fin  ever  fo  much.  If  I 
mould  kill  a  man,  he  could  not  damn  me  •,  nay, 
if  I  mould  kill  all  the  men  in  the  world,  he  can- 
not damn  me.' — This  man  was  rigid  in  trifles,  re- 
Jigioufly  fcrupulous  in  frivolous  things,  fuch  as 
drefsy  &c.  yet  he  made  traffick  of  the  human  kind, 
engaged  in  war,  and  performed  acts  of  cruelty 
and  outrage  with  as  little  tendernefs  as  may  be 
imagined  !  He  long  bloated  himfelf  with  the  no- 
tion of  God's  peculiar  favour — but,  near  the  clofe 
of  his  life,  the  difpleafure  of  the  Almighty  com- 
ing vifibly  upon  him,  the  rhapfodijl  changed  his 
tone,  and  exclaimed,  that  God  had  forfaken  him  ! 

I  would  advife  all  men,  of  that  bold,  prefuming, 
felf-confident  fpirit,  to  read  and  confider  well 
thofe  words,  in  Jer.  xxii.  24.  '  As  I  live,  faith 
Jehovah,  though  Coiiiah,  the  foil  of  Jehoiakim9 
king  of  Judah,  were  the  fignet  upon  my  right 
hand  ;  yet  would  I  pluck  thee  thence.' 

Confider,  rirft,  who  fpeaks,  Jehovah:  He  not 
only  fpeaks,  but  he  confirms  his  threatening  with 
an  oath  •,  and,  becaufehe  could  lwear  by  no  great- 
er, he  fware  by  himfelf,  by  his  own  life ;  '  As  I 
live,  faith  Jehovah,  though  Coniah%  the  fon  of  Je- 
boiakim,  king  of  Judah  ;'  though  he  is  of  the  fami- 
ly of  David,  with  whom  I  have  made  an  everlaft- 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  1 97 

ing  covenant,  ordered  in  all  things,  and  fure  ; 
and  though  he  is  anointed  king  over  my  people ;  I 
will  not  fpare  him :  yea,  though  he  <  were  the  fig- 
net  upon  my  right  hand  ;  yet  would  I  pluck  thee 
thence.'  Signets,  upon  the  hands  of  ancient  Perfi- 
an  monarchs,  were  thofe  feals  with  which  their 
decrees  were  fealed  and  confirmed  :  fo  that  no 
man  could  reverfe  them.  Now,  God  declares,  that 
if  this  man  was  ever  fo  dear,  and  as  neceffary,  to 
him,  as  the  fignet  on  the  right  hand  of  a  king  is 
to  its  owner  ;  that  though  he  was  not  able  to  go- 
vern his  kingdom  without  his  affiftance  ;  though 
he  had  been  the  deareft  and  moft  ufeful  thing  :  he 
would  entirely  calf  him  off,  for  his  tranfgreflions. 
And  how  much  more  fo,  if  it  be  confidered,  that 
no  man  is  neceffary  to  God  ;  that  man  cannot  be 
profitable  to  him  *,  that  neither  our  wickednefs  can 
hurt  him,  nor  our  righteoufnefs  benefit  him  :  (See 
Job  xxii.  2,  3.  xxxv.  6,  7,  8.  Pfal.  xvi.  2,  3.) 
And  that  he  threatens  to  punifh  the  only  family 
that  he  had  known  on  earth,  for  all  their  iniqui- 
ties ;  Amos  iii.  2.  What  have  not  thofe  to  fear, 
who  have  been  placed  in  high  ftations,  entrufted 
with  precious  treafures,  great  abilities,  opportuni- 
ties,   &c.  and   have  abufed   them ! Let   fuch 

read,  and  ferioufly  confider,  St.  Luke  xii.  42 — 
48.  St.  Matth.  xxiv.  45 — 51,  2  Pet,  ii.  20,  21, 
22. 

Friend.  Thefe  confiderations  are,  on  one  hand, 
glorious  and  fublime,  beyond  conception  \  and, 
on  the  other,  terrible,  beyond  defcription.  But 
fome  fty,  That  if  they  are  only  admitted  into  the 
kingdom  of  God,  and  are  not  caff  into  the  lake  of 
fire,  it  is  the  higheft  of  their  ambition :  that  they 
never  afpire  to  be  kings  and  priefls  ;  nor  to  obtain 
I  3  a 


I98  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

a  crown,  throne,  fceptre,  &c.  And  others  fay, 
That  if  they  are  ever,  to  all  eternity,  to  be  deli- 
vered from  their  mifery,  that  it  is  a  matter  of  little 
confequence  to  them  whether  they  are  followers 
of  Chrift  here,  or  not. 

Minijler.  Thefe  kind  of  reflections  are  frequent- 
ly thrown  out  by  the  enemies  of  the  Reftoration, 
to  caft  an  odium  upon  the  doctrine :  But  if  they 
were  to  hear  a  man  fay;  4  If  I  am  juft  fuffered 
to  enter  into  this  kingdom,  and  am  not  condemn- 
ed as  a  rebel,  it  is  all  I  wifh  •,  I  defire  neither  the 
riches,  honours,  pleafures,  convenieacies,  nor  even 
the  necefTaries,  that  many  of  the  inhabitants  en- 
joy :  all  I  afk  is  to  be  exempted  from  the  pain  and 
fhame  of  public  punifhment :'  And  another  was  to 
add — *  1  can  fee  little  or  no  difference  between  be- 
ing made  heir  apparent  to  the  crown,  pofTeirmg  all 
the  privileges,  honours,  dignities,  &c.  of  a  prince 
of  the  blood  •,  and  being  hanged,  drawn,  and  quar- 
tered, for  high  treafon ;  fince  even  that  punifh- 
ment, painful  and  fhamefui  as  it  is,  mull  come 
to  an  end  :'  I  afk,  Would  they  not  effeem  both 
thefe  men  in  a  ftate  of  imanitv,  or  worfe ;  entire- 
ly devoid  of  all  fenfe  and  reafon  ?  Yet,  this  unrea- 
fonable  language,  is  not  worthy  to  be  named  in 
the  fame  day  with  that  whi  h  you  mentioned.  The 
difference  is  lb  great,  I  cannot  find  language  to 
exprefs  it.  I  therefore  confider  all  fuch  pcrlbns 
as  madmen,  with  whom  it  is  not  worth  while  to 
reafon  ;  who  under  ft  and  not  what  they  lay,  nor 
whereof  they  affirm. 

Friend.  So  they  appear  to  me.     But  the  fyftem 
you  have  laid  down,  appears  equally  calculated  to 
check   prefumption  and  defpair,  and  to  cure  all 
fuch  Spiritual  madnefs ;  provided  that  they  will  at- 
tend 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  10? 

tend  to  it. — But,  what  will  you  fay  to  the  doc- 
trine of  annihilation  ?  that  may  not  be  liable  to  the 
fame  objections  as  cndlefs  damnation ;  and  fo  the 
wicked  may  be  punithed  with  ever  lofting  deftruclion> 
and  deftroyed,  foul  and  body,  in  hell;  and  yet,  at 
laff,  all  beings  that  are  in  exigence  may  be  made 
happy.  The  Scripture  feems,  in  many  places,  to 
favour  this  idea;  and  the  works  of  nature  feem  to 
confirm  it.  For  instance  •,  many  fruits  and  animals 
periih,  before  they  arrive  at  perfection  ;  and  why 
may  it  not  be  lb  with  the  fouls  and  bodies  of  men  ? 
they  are  no  where  laid  to  be  railed  to  incorruption, 
or  immortality  ;  but  to  be  deftroyed,  to  be  call 
into  the  lake  of  fire,  to  be  burnt  up,  root  and 
branch :  to  be  coniumed,  devoured,  burnt  up  as 
chaff,  thorns,  &c.  I  need  not  mention  particular 
texts  ;  becaufe  the  general  part  of  the  threaten- 
ings  in  the  Scriptures  run  in  that  itiie.  And  I 
have  fometimes  of  late  reafoned  with  myielf,  that 
thelecond  death  mult  end  either  in  the  reftoration 
or  annihilation  of  thole  who  were  call  therein  ;  for 
there  leemed  fomething  in  entUefs  mifery,  that  lur- 
pafled  my  belief,  at  times.  But  I  could  not  iatis- 
fy  myfelf,  whether  the  wicked  would  be  finally 
reftored  to  ibme  degree  of  happinefs,  or  totally 
deftroyed ;  and  was  apt  to  think  the  latter,  as  it 
feemed  a  ftrange  figure  of  lpeech  to  call  deftm&isn, 
Reftoration. — Pray,  have  you  ever  thought  upon 
this  matter  ? 

Minijler.  There  are  but  three  poflible  things 
that  can  befal  thofe  who  are  caft  into  the  fecond 
death  ;  either  endhfs  mi/try,  total  annihilation,  or 
Reftoration  i  a  fourth  cannot  be  thought  upon  ; 
and  but  one  of  thefe  can  be  true.  Now,  where 
there  are  only  three  polTibilities,  of  which  only 
I  4  one 


200  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

one  can  be  true,  and  one  mujl  be  true •,  there  are 
thefe  two  ways  of  difcovering  the  truth  :  Firft,  if 
two  of  the  proportions  are  proved  to  be  abfurd, 
the  third  muff  fland  :  2dly,  if  one  be  proved  true, 
the  others  mult  fall  to  the  ground  of  confe- 
quence.  I  have  taken  the  fecond  method  ;  and 
having  mewed  that  the  doctrine  of  the  Reftoration 
is  not  abfurd,  and  therefore  that  it  is  true ;  confe- 
tjuently,  the  others  are  falfe. — But,  befides  this 
way  of  arguing,  there  are  three  circumftances 
which  prove  to  my  latisfaction,  that  annihilation  is 
not  a  truth. 

i.  That  at  the  very  time  that  the  wicked  are  de- 
stroyed, they  are  fatd  to  be  tormented  with  fire 
and  brimftone  :  and  that  they  have  no  reft,  day 
nor  night ;  and  the  continuance  of  this  is  for 
no  fhort  time,  (as  would  probably  be  the  cafe, 
if  the  intention  of  God  was  only  to  deftroy  them 
out  of  being)  but  for  the  age  of  ages.     Rev.  xiv. 

10.   II. 

2.  They  are  put  to  fliame,  and  perifh,  that  they 
may  know  the  Lord  -,  as  I  have  noticed  before  : 
See  Pfal.  xxxiv.  16,  17.  lxxxiii.  16,  17,  18. — and 
the  obfervations  I  have  made  upon  thefe  pafTages 
in  the  dialogues. 

3.  But  that  on  which  I  dare  venture  the  whole 
caufe,  is,  that  God  hath  abfolutely  promifed  to  re- 
itore  and  bring  again  thofe  whom  he  hath  utterly 
deftroyed. 

Friend,  Can  you  prove  that  ?  For  if  you  can, 
it  will  fettle  the  whole  controverfy. 

Minijler.  I  trufl  I  can,  in  many  inftances  :  But 
I  will  fix  upon  one  that  is  full  to  the  purpofe,  and 
unexceptionable ;  and  that  is,  the  cafe  of  Sodom, 
and  he*  daughters,  Gomorrah,  Admah,  and  Zeboim ; 

who, 


UNIVERSAL   RESTORATION.  201 

who,  «  giving  themfelves  over  to  fornication,  and 
going  after  ftrange  flefh,  are  fet  forth  for  an  ex- 
ample, fuffering  the  vengeance  of  eternal  fire/ 
Jude  7. 

As  they  are  fet  forth  for  an  example  in  their  pu- 
nifhment,  fo  alfo  in  their  reftoration  ;  For  we  may 
certainly  argue,  that  if  any  of  the  human  race  mail 
be  annihilated,  the  inhabitants  of  Sodom,  Gomorrah, 
&c.  will  be ;  as  they  were  condemned  with  an 
overthrow,  and  made  an  example  to  thofe  who 
mould  after  live  ungodly,  2  Pet.  ii.  6.  But  thefc 
wicked  nations  mall  have  their  captivity  returned ; 
mall  return  to  their  former  efkte  ;  and  fhall  be 
received  by  Jerufalem,  as  daughters,  in  the  ever- 
lafting  covenant :  Jerufalem  and  her  daughters, 
more  wicked  themfelves,  than  Sodom  and  her  daugh- 
ters, mail  be  reftored  at  the  fame  time  ;  fhall  re- 
member their  ways,  and  be  afhamed  •,  mail  never 
open  mouth  any  more  to  glory  over  the  meaneft.  of 
mankind  ;  when  the  great  Jehovah  fhall  be  paci- 
fied towards  Jerufalem,  for  all  that  fhe  has  done, 
and  towards  Sodom  and  Samaria,  for  all  that  they 
have  done  alio,  inafmuch  as  they  fhall  return 
from  their  long  captivity,  and  be  given  to  Je- 
rufalem for  daughters  ;  See  Ezek.  xvi.  53,  55,  61, 
63. 

Now,  by  Sodom  and  her  daughters  being  re- 
turned from  their  long  and  dreadful  captivity,  we 
mud  underftand  one  of  three  things  :  either,  firft, 
the  return  of  their  defendants  ;  or,  fecondly,  the 
reftoration  of  the  land  whereon  the  cities  flood  ;  or, 
laltly,  the  reftoration  of  thofe  very  perfons  who 
were  deftroyed. 

It  cannot  be  the  firft ;  for  there  are  none  of  their 

defendants  remaining  on  earth  :  all  were  deftroy- 

I  5  ed 


202  DIALOGUES   ON   THE 

ed  by  fire  and  brimftone  :  none  of  the  inhabitant? 
efcaped,  Lot  and  his  daughters  excepted  :  who 
were  only  fojourners,  and  were  defcendants  of  Te- 
rah,  and  relations  to  Abraham. 

As  it  cannot  be  the  firft,  let  us  try  the  fecond. 
A  very  ingenious  gentleman  fuppofes,  that  in  the 
time  of  the  Millenium,  the  Dead  Sea  fhall  be  turn- 
ed into  land,  and  fhall  again  become  a  beautiful, 
well-watered  plain,  and  be  given  to  the  pofterity 
of  Abraham,  Ifaac,  and  Jacob  :  For  he  argues, 
and  feemingly  very  jufHy,  that  as  God  promifed 
Abraham  all  the  land  which  he  could  fee  from  the 
place  where  he  then  flood  ;  (See  Gen.  xiii.  14,  15, 
16,  17.)  and  as  the  plain  of  Sodom  was  in  fight, 
it  was  included  in  the  grant :  and,  though  the  Dead 
Sea  now  occupies  the  place  where  thofe  cities 
flood  ;  yet  God's  promife  cannot  fail :  and,  there- 
fore, in  the  Millenium,  the  Dead  Sea  fhall  be  fwal- 
lowed  up,  and  the  place  mall  become  a  fruitful 
plain.  But  whoever  will  read  Ezek.  xlvii.  8,  ot 
10,  11.  may  plainly  fee,  that  the  waters  that  fhall 
ifTue  out  from  under  the  threfhold  of  the  holy 
houfe,  mail  be  brought  into  the  Dead  Sea ;  and 
fhall  ib  heal  thofe  deadly  waters,  that  they  fhall  be- 
come fruitful,  and  bring  forth  fifh  in  great  abund- 
ance; exceeding  many,  like  the  great  fea,  which  is 
now  called  the  Mediterranean  ;  which  fifh  fhall  be 
more  ufeful  for  food,  to  the  innumerable  inhabit- 
ants that  fhall  then  be  in  that  happy  country,  than 
all  the  vegetables  that  would  grow  there,  even 
though  the  whole  place  was  turned  into  a  fruitful 
garden. 

Friend.  But  are  you  certain,  that  by  the  fea,  is 
meant  the  Dead  Sea}  or  Lake  of  Sodom  ? 

A-Lnifler, 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  203 

Minijlcr.  Yes.  1.  Becaufe  all  the  other  waters 
in  thofe  parts,  produce  great  plenty  of  excellent 
fifti;  and,  therefore,  need  not  healing.  2.  Be- 
caufe fifhers  fhall  ftand  upon  the  banks  of  the  fea, 
from  En-gedi  even  unto  En-eglaim,  places  that  arc 
well  known  to  be  contiguous  to  the  Dead  Sea  •,  one 
of  which  is  nearly  at  the  north-eaft  corner,  the 
other  at  the  weft  end  of  the  fame.  3.  The  marfhes, 
and  the  miry  places  thereof,  fhall  not  be  healed  ; 
but  mail  be  given  to  fait,  as  ipecimens  of  what 
the  whole  is  at  this  time  ;  which  barren  and  dead- 
ly fpots  (hall  remain,  as  {landing  evidences  of  the 
truth  of  Scripture,  and  the  exact  fulfilment  of  pro- 
phecy. 

Thus,  as  Sodom  cannot  be  reftored  in  her  pos- 
terity, there  being  none  remaining  on  earth  ;  nei- 
ther (hall  the  Dead  Sea  be  turned  into  land,  in  the 
Millenium  ;  it  follows,  as  the  only  remaining  fenfe 
of  the  return  of  Sodom1  s  captivity,  that  thofe  ve- 
ry inhabitants,  who  were  deftroyed  by  fire  and 
brimftone  from  heaven,  fhall  be  reftored  to  a  ftate 
of  felicity  :  And  thus,  both  the  doctrine  of  anni- 
hilation and  endlefs  damnation,  fall  to  the  ground  at 
once. 

Friend.  But  as  it  is  the  fecond  death,  after  the 
day  of  judgment,  that  is  to  deftroy  the  bodies  and 
fouls  of  the  wicked  in  hell ;  perhaps,  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Sodomy  Samaria,  and  Jernfalcm,  may  be  re- 
ftored before  that  period,  and  may  not  be  caft  into 
the  lake  of  fire 

Minifter.  It  is  evident  by  our  Saviour's  words, 
(for  we  muft  not  contradict  any  part  of  the  Scrip- 
tures) that  this  will  not  be  the  cafe  :  for  he  faith, 
That  it  fhall  be  more  tolerable  for  the  land  (that  is, 
the  inhabitants-)  of  Sodom,  in  the  day  of  judgment,. 

than 


204  DIALOGUES   ON   THE 

than  for  the  cities  where  his  gofpel  was  preached, 
and  his  miracles  wrought,  and  yet  the  inhabitants 
remained  impenitent :  See  St.  Matth.  xi.  24.  x.  15. 
St.  Mark,  vi.  1 1 .  St.  Luke,  x.  1 2.  From  all  which 
pafTages  it  is  evident,  that  the  inhabitants  of  Sodom 
will  be  condemned  in  the  day  of  judgment,  and 
punifhed  in  the  lake  of  fire  •,  and  though  their  mi- 
fery  will  not  be  fo  great  as  that  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  cities  where  our  Saviour  preached,  and  per- 
formed his  mighty  works  ;  yet  they  will  be  mifera- 
ble  in  that  day :  and,  confequently,  the  return  of 
their  captivity  is  not  to  be  expected,  till  after  the 
creation  of  the  new  earth.  Therefore,  it  is  plain, 
that  the  lake  of  fire  is  not  defigned  to  annihilate 
thofe  who  are  caft  therein  •,  fmce  all  that  are  not 
found  written  in  the  book  of  life,  at  the  day  of 
judgment,  will  be  caft  into  the  lake  of  fire.  They 
whofe  names  are  in  the  book  of  life,  will  be  happy. 
The  inhabitants  of  Sodom  will  be  miferable,  in  fome 
degree  ;  therefore,  will  not  be  found  written  in 
the  book  of  life  ;  confequently,  will  be  caft  into 
the  lake  of  fire.  They  will  be  reftored ;  their 
captivity  fhall  be  returned  :  therefore  the  lake  of 
fire  (hall  not  annihilate  them.  They  are  let  forth 
for  an  example  in  their  punifhment ;  and  confe- 
quently, in  their  Reftoration. — I  need  not  purfue 
this  argument  farther  :  It  appears  evident  to  me  ; 
and,  till  it  be  fairly  anfwered,  I  mail  add  nothing 
more. 

Friend.  I  lately  read  a  fermon  written  by  one 

Mr.  £ f    in  which  the   writer  brings    many 

ftrong  reafons  for  the  eternity  of  Hell  torments, 
moft  of  which  have  already  been  mentioned  and 
anfwered  in  thefe  Dialogues  •,  but  he  makes  nfe 
of  one  which  has  not  yet  been  brought  under 

our 


UNIVERSAL  RESTORATION*  20$ 

our  confide  ration,  which  is,  That  the  damned 
are  under  the  neceffity  of  conlbntly  committing 
frefh  fin,  and  therefore  as  they  will  always  con- 
tinue to  fin  againft  God,  fo  of  neceflity  their  pu- 
nifhment  can  never  ceafe.  Have  you  ever  thought 
of  this  ? 

Minijler.  Yes,  I  have  frequently  heard  it  men- 
tioned ,  but  as  it  appears  totally  void  of  all  foun- 
dation in  the  Scripture,  it  hardly  deferves  any  no- 
tice. The  objections  that  I  feel  myfelf  concerned 
to  treat  with  ferioufnefs  and  refpect,  and  candidly 
to  anfwer,  are  thofe  which  appear  to  be  drawn 
from  the  book  of  divine  Revelation  ;  but  if  I  muft 
attend  to  all  thofe  which  the  ingenuity  of  men 
might  raife  againft  the  doctrine  of  the  Reftoration, 
I  fhould  not  only  have  a  very  hard  tafk,  but  fhould 
never  know  when  I  had  done,  and  befides  the  dif. 
courfe  would  dwindle  into  trifling  and  conjectures, 
very  unfuitable  to  the  nature  and  importance  of 
fuch  an  awful  ferious  fubject.  I  mull  obferve, 
that  this  objection  is  nothing  but  a  rafti  unground- 
ed affertion,  or  bold  conjecture,  without  the  leaft 
foundation  either  in  Scripture  or  reafon,  and  if  I 
was  to  affert  juft  the  contrary,  I  cannot  fee  why 
my  affertion  would  not  be  a  fufficient  anfwer.  Ne- 
verthelefs,  left  it  mould  be  thought  that  any  ob- 
jection can  be  railed,  that  cannot  be  fairly  anfwer- 
ed,  and  that  I  knowing  the  ftrength  of  this,  would 
willingly  evade  it,  I  will  fay  a  few  words  upon  it. 
The  Scriptures  univerfally  hold  forth  the  idea,  that 
men  will  be  judged,  condemned,  and  punifhed  ac- 
cording to  the  deeds  done  in  the  body.  God  will 
render  to  every  man  according  to  his  deeds,'  Rom. 
ii.  6.  ■  For  we  muft  all  appear  before  the  judg- 
ment feat  of  Chrift,  that  every  one  may  receive 

the 


206  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

the  things  done  in  his  body,  according  to  that  h* 
hath  done,  whether  it  be  good  or  bad,'  2  Cor.  v. 
10. 

c  And  that  fervant  which  knew  his  Lord's  will, 
and  prepared  not  himfelf,  neither  did  according  to 
his  will,  fhall  be  beaten  with  many  ftripes  :  but  he 
that  knew  not,  and  did  commit  things  worthy  of 
ftripes,  fhall  be  beaten  with  few  {tripes/  St.  Luke, 
xii.  47,  48.  Thefe,  and  all  the  paflages  that  fpeak 
of  future  punifhment,  conftantly  hold  it  forth  as 
a  juft  retribution  for  the  evil  deeds  done  in  this 
life  •,  but  never  intimate  any  thing  of  what  this  ob- 
jection-holds forth,  of  punifhment  being  continued 
ad  itifimtwn  for  crimes  committed  hereafter.  Be- 
fides,  it  is  plain  that  punifhments  or  corrections 
are  intended  to  flop  men  from  finning,  and  under 
the  divine  agency  to  take  away  their  fins.  '  By 
this  therefore  fhall  the  iniquity  of  Jacob  be  purg- 
ed ;  and  this  is  all  the  fruit  to  take  away  his  fin,' 
Ifai.  xxvii.  9.  This  is  univeriaily  allowed  to  be  the 
defign  of  troubles  and  forrows  in  the  prefent  life, 
and  why  not  in  the  next  ftate  alfo  ?  the  Scripture 
fays  nothing  to  forbid  this  idea,  but  much  to  en- 
courage it ;  particularly  that  awful  pafTage  where 
the  prophet  fays,  *  And  it  was  revealed  in  mine 
ears  by  Jehovah  of  Hofts,  Surely  this  iniquity 
fhall  not  be  purged  from  you,  till  ye  die,  faith 
the  Lord  God  of  hofts/  Ifai.  xxii.  14.  If  then 
iniquity  (hall  be  purged  away  after  death,  it  is 
certain  that  men  (hall  not  always  continue  to  fin 
in  a  future  ftate,  for  they  muft  ceafe  to  commit  ini- 
quity, before  it  can  be  purged  away.  And  though 
their  punifhments  may  at  fir  ft  caufe  them  to  rage, 
(as  we  fee  is  frequently  the  cafe  in  this  world)  }et 
fhall  they  continue  until  the  moft  flubborn  fhall  be 
entirely  fubdued  and  humbled. 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  207 

Friend.  There  is  another  argument  of  this  fame 
kind,  viz.  that  is  not  founded  upon  any  particular 
text  of  Scripture,  which  is  directly  contrary  to 
the  one  you  have  been  anfwering,  which  I  have 
formerly  thought  unanfwerable  in  favour  of  the 
doctrine  of  endlefs  punifhment,  which  is  the  infi- 
nity of  fin,  being  againfr,  an  infinite  object:,  con- 
taining infinite  hatefulnefs,  and  juftly  therefore 
deferving  infinite  punifhment.  Sin  is  a  crime  of 
infinite  magnitude,  becaufe  God  is  a  Being  of  in- 
finite majefty  and  perfection.  Every  crime  juftly 
demerits  punifhment  proportioned  to  its  malignity! 
and  confequently  every  offence  againfl  God  deme- 
rits infinite  punifhment.  No  mere  creature  can 
ever  fuffer  an  infinity  of  puniihment  in  any  limited 
duration.  It  follows  therefore,  that  a  finner  de- 
ferves  to  be  eternally  punifhed.  Farther,  every 
man  is  under  infinite  obligations  to  devote  him- 
felf  to  the  fervice  of  God,  his  infinitely  glo- 
rious Creator,  Preferver  and  Benefactor.  To 
violate  an  infinite  obligation,  is  to  commit  a 
crime  of  infinite  malignity.  A  crime  of  infinite 
malignity,  deferves  infinite  punifhment.  Can  it 
ever  be  proved  then  that  everlafting,  or  endlefs  pu- 
nijbment  is  not  the  proper  defert  of  a  life  of  fin  ? 
J  have  often  faid,  That  this  argument  trite  and 
common  as  it  is,  never  was,  nor  ever  would  be 
fairly  anfwered  \  neverthelefs,  I  am  willing  to  hear 
what  you  have  to  fay  upon  it. 

Minifter.  As  this  argument  is  often  urged,  as  of 
the  greateft.  weight,  and  as  you  have  ftated  it  in  its 
greateft  poffibk  force,  I  (hail  endeavour  to  anfwer 
it  fairly,  and  particularly. 

If  fin  is  infinite,  then  we  muft  afcribe  to  it  one 
of  the  perfections  of  the  Deity,  which  firikes  me 
as  fomething  abfurd,  if  not  fomething  worfe  :  fin, 

a 


203  flljfcOGUES   ON  TKE 

$i  privation,  an  a#  0/*  a  worm,  infinite  ?  Actions 
muft,  in  my  opinion  take  their  denomination  from 
the  actors,  and  not  from  the  objects.  Infinite 
actions,  or  actions  of  infinite  magnitude  require 
infinite  power  to  perform  them.  If  fin  is  of  in- 
finite magnitude,  goodncfs  is  more  fo,  as  deriving 
a  power  from  God  to  the  performance  of  it.  But 
if  you  grant  that  David  fpoke  in  the  name  of  the 
Mediator  in  Plalm  xvi.  you  may  be  at  once  furnifh- 
ed  with  a  proof,  that  even  goodnefs,  in  the  high- 
cft  ftate  in  which  it  ever  was  exhibited  in  the 
world,  was  not  confidered  as  of  infinite  magni- 
tude by  the  great  performer.  i  Thou  haft  faid 
unto  Jehovah,  Thou  art  my  Lord :  my  goodnefs 
extendeth  not  to  thee.  But  to  the  faints  that 
are  in  the  earth,  and  to  the  excellent,  in  whom  is 
all  my  delight,'  Ver.  2,  3.  If  acts  of  goodnefs 
were  of  infinite  magnitude  they  muft  extend  to 
God,  but  the  fpeaker,  in  thefe  words,  be  he 
who  he  may,  David  or  Chrift,  was  careful  to 
let  us  know  that  he  did  not  conceive  his  acts  of 
goodnefs  infinite.  And  if  acts  of  goodnefs  are 
not  infinite,  it  would  be  highly  abi'urd  to  call 
evil  actions  infinite,  which  proceed  wholly  from 
the  creature. 

I  grant  indeed  that  there  is  a  paffage  of  Scrip- 
ture which  mentions  the  word  infinite 'as  belonging 
to  fin  and  iniquity,  but  then  it  is  mentioned  in 
fuch  a  connection  as  (hews  it  to  be  ufed  as  Jofe- 
phus  frequently  mentions  it,  for  a  very  great  mul- 
titude. And  thus  it  is  ufed  by  many  good  authors, 
who  certainly  do  not  mean  to  ufe  it  in  the  firfi:  and 
proper  fenfeof  the  word.  The  Sacred  Writer,  in 
the  paffage  alluded  to,  takes  particular  care  to 
guard  us  againit.  any  fuch  idea,  as  though  fin  was 

of 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  20$ 

t>f  infinite  magnitude,  or  even  virtuous  and  righte- 
ous actions,  which  approach  far  nearer  to  infini- 
ty, as  having  their  fource  from  the  fountain  of  in- 
finite goodnefs.  For  Eliphaz  fays,  c  Can  a  man 
be  profitable  unto  God,  as  he  that  is  wife  may  be 
profitable  unto  himfelf  ?  Is  it  any  pleafure  to  the 
Almighty,  that  thou  art  righteous  ?  or  is  it  gain 
to  him  that  thou  makeft  thy  ways  perfect  ?  Will 
he  reprove  thee  for  fear  of  thee  ?  Will  he  enter 
with  thee  into  judgment  ?  Is  not  thy  wickednefs 
great  ?  and  thine  iniquities  infinite  ?'  Job  xxii. 
2 — 5.  And  language  very  fimilar  to  the  above  is 
ufed  by  Elihn,  '  If  thou  finned,  what  doeft  thou 
againfl  him  ?  or  if  thy  tranfgreffions  be  multiplied, 
what  doft  thou  unto  him  ?  If  thou  be  righteous, 
what  giveft  thou  him  ?  or  what  receiveth  he  of  thine 
hand  ?  Thy  wickednefs  may  hurt  a  man  as  thou 
art,  and  thy  righteoufnefs  may  profit  the  fon  of 
man/  job  xxxv.  6,  7,  8. 

Thefe  expreflions,  if  they  teach  any  thing,  I 
mould  think  exprefsly  declare,  that  no  actions  of 
men  can  by  any  means  be  of  infinite  magnitude,  in 
the  fenfe  in  which  we  commonly  underftand  that 
word  ;  though  their  numbers  and  magnitudes  may 
be  Co  great  as  to  be  {tiled  infinite,  as  the  word  is 
fometimcs  ufed. 

You  afTerr,  in  confequence  of  your  ideas  of  in- 
finite fin,  that  every  offence  againfl  God  demerits 
infinite  punifnment.  If  the  cafe  be  fo,  does  it  not 
tend  entirely  to  take  away  the  diftincYion  which 
God  hath  made  between  fins  of  infirmity  and  fins 
of  malice,  fins  of  ignorance  and  fins  of  wilfulnefs, 
lefier  and  greater  fins  ?  All  fins  are  offences  againfl 
God,  and  if  every  offence  againfl  God  is  of  infinite 
magnitude^  how  can  any  be  greater  ?  and  thus  the 

difliudlions 


210  DIALOGUES   ON    THE 

diftincHons  are  entirely  deftroyed,  and,  all  fins  will 
be  efteemed  equal,  contrary  to  the  whole  tenor  of 
the  Scriptures. 

If  every  offence  againft  God  demerits  infinite 
punifhment,  then  it  will  follow,  that  God  cannot 
render  to  any  according  to  their  ways,  nor  punifh 
them  as  their  iniquities  delerve,  unlefs  they  are 
doomed  to  endlefs  mifery  ;  what  then  will  become 
of  all  thofe  threatenings  where  God  threatens  to 
punifh  people  for  all  their  iniquities,  and  yet  to 
fhew  favour  to  them  afterwards  ?  This  is  impofii- 
ble  upon  your  plan,  for  none  can  ever  receive  all 
the  punifhment  due  to  their  fins  during  numberlefs 
ages.  Yet  if  the  word  of  God  be  true,  he  can 
deal  with  tranfgreflbrs  as  they  have  done,  and  yet 
be  gracious  to  them  afterwards.  *  For  thus  faith 
Adonai  Jehovah,  I  will  even  deal  with  thee  as 
thou  haft,  done,  which  haft  defpifed  the  oath  in 
breaking  the  covenant.  Neverthelefs,  I  will  re- 
member my  covenant  with  thee  in  the  days  of  thy 
youth,  and  I  will  eftablifh  unto  thee  an  everlafting 
covenant. — That  thou  mayeft  remember  and  be 
confounded,  and  never  open  thy  mouth  anymore 
becaufe  of  thy  (name,  when  I  am  pacified  towards 
thee  for  all  that  thou  haft  done,  faith  Adonai  Je- 
hovah,' Ezek.  xvi.  59,  60,  63. 

Here  is  an  inftance  to  the  purpofe,  of  thofe 
whofe  fins  were  of  the  deepeft  die,  and  to  whom 
God  threatens  to  deal  as  they  had  done,  and  to 
punifhthem  for  all  their  numerous  and  aggravated 
tranfgreiTions,  and  yet  to  remember  mercy  for  them 
afterwards,  and  to  be  pacified  towards  them  for 
all  that  they  had  done.  All  which  things  would 
beabfolutely  impoilible,  according  to  your  ideas. 
Ifl  many  other  parts  of  Scripture  God  promifes  to 

render 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  2fl 

render  to  tranfgreflbrs  according  to  their  works 
and  ways,  and  yet  to  be  afterwards  gracious  unto 
them.  And  in  one  place,  at  lead,  where  God  is 
declaring  the  great  mercies  which  he  will  manifeft 
unto  the  children  of  Ifrael,  in  returning  them  to 
their  own  land,  and  caufing  them  to  dwell  fafely 
therein,  he  fays,  c  And  firft,  I  will  recompenfe 
their  iniquity,  and  their  fm  double  :  becaufe  they 
have  defiled  my  land,  they  have  filled  mine  inherit- 
ance with  the  carcafes  of  their  deteftable  and  abo- 
minable things,'  Jer.  xvi.  18.  What  do  you  think. 
of  this  ?  If  every  offence  is  of  infinite  magnitude, 
and  deferves  infinite  punifhment,  which  can  never 
be  fully  executed,  then  how  can  God  punim  a 
people  for  all  their  iniquities,  and  do  to  the  greater! 
finners  as  they  have  done,  yea,  and  recommence 
their  iniquity,  and  their  fin  double  firft,  and  then 
be  gracious  to  them,  and  love  them,  and  be  paci- 
fied towards  them  afterwards  ?  And  the  prophet 
Ifaiah  lays,  *  Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye,  my  people, 
faith  your  God.  Speak  ye  comfortably  to  Jeru- 
falem,  and  cry  unto  her,  that  her  warfare  is  accom- 
plifhed,  that  her  iniquity  is  pardoned ;  for  (lie 
hath  received  of  the  Lord's  hind  double  for  all 
her  sins,'  Ilai.  xl.  i,  2.  Here  a  fact  is  faid  to  be 
accomplished,  which  upon  your  fcheme  can  ne- 
ver be  done  to  all  eternity  \  for  if  every  offence 
againft  God  is  of  infinite  magnitude,  and  de- 
ferves infinite  punifhinent,  none  can  ever  have  re- 
ceived Jingle  for  one  of  thdrjins,  far  lefs  double 
for  ALL. 

And  therefore  nothing  can  poiTibly  be  more 
evidently  contrary  to  Scripture  than  your  trite  and 
common  argument,  that  as,  every  fin  is  of  infi- 
nite magnitude,  fo  it  juflly  demerits  infinite  pu- 

nilhment, 


212  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

cifhment,  "which  as  no  mere  creature  can  bear, 
muft  neceffarily  fubject  all  who  are  recompensed 
according  to  their  own  doings  to  endlefs  mifery. 

Befides,  If  I  was  to  grant  you,  contrary  to 
Scripture,  reafon,  and  common  fenfe,  that  every 
offence  is  of  infinite  magnitude,  and  naturally 
deferves  infinite  punifhment :  How  would  you 
prove  from  that  the  certainty  of  endlefs  mifery  P 
Do  you  make  nothing  of  the  reconciliation  which 
our  Lord  Jefus  has  made  for  all  finners,  and  for 
all  fins? 

Let  me  afk  you  ferionily,  Did  not  Chrift  make 
a  full  and  complete  offering  and  propitiation  for 
the  fins  of  the  whole  world  ?  Is  it  not  certain  that 
his  merits  were  far  greater  than  the  demerits  of 
all  mankind  ?  Is  he  not  the  Lamb  of  God,  who 
taketh  away  the  fin  of  the  world  ?  If  Chrift  died 
for  all  men,  without  exception,  as  you  grant,  and 
removed  all  their  iniquities,  and  bore  them  away, 
and  reconciled  all  to  God  by  his  death  while  they 
were  enemies :  much  more  as  he  has  paid  fo  great 
a  price  for  their  ranlbm,  he  will  recover  them  out 
of  their  loft  eftate,  and  fave  them  by  his  life. 
<  Where  fin  abounded,  grace  did  (or  fnall)  much 
more  abound.  That  as  fin  hath  reigned  unto  death, 
even  fo  might  grace  reign  through  righteoufnefs 
unto  eternal  life,  by  Jefus  Chrift  our  Lord,'  Rom, 
v,  20,  21. 

I  conclude,  that  let  fin  be  ever  fo  great,  the 
grace  of  God  is  greater  :  and  if  you  will  have  it 
that  fin  is  of  infinite  magnitude^  I  hope  you  will 
not  deny  the  propitiation  of  Jefus  Chrift,  which 
he  made  for  all  fins,  the  fame  character.  There- 
fore if  you  magnify  fin,  and  infift  upon  the  great- 
$efs  of  its  demerit,  I  will  endeavour  to  magnify 

the 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  213 

the  all  powerful  Redeemer  above  it,  and  fpeak  of 
his  power  to  redeem  all  the  human  race,  for  whom 
he  fried  his  blood.  And  then  you  will  gain  no- 
thing in  favour  of  the  doctrine  of  endlefs  damna- 
tion, by  all  your  arguments  founded  upon  the 
infinity  of  fin  :  Chrifl  being  far  more  infinite  to 
fove,  than  fin  can  be  to  deftroy :  and  as  he  has 
undertaken  to  redeem  and  bring  back  thofe  who 
were  loft,  there  is  no  danger  of  his  failing  to  per- 
form it. 

Friend,  I  mull  confefs  that  what  you  have  faid 
on  this  head  entirely  convinces  me,  that  we  can- 
not found  the  eternity  of  punifhment,  upon  the 
infinity  of  fin  ;  and  you  have  given  me  more  fa- 
tisfaction  upon  many  points  in  thcfe  converfations 
than  I  ever  expected  to  receive.  I  am  indeed  at 
length  almoft  perfuaded  to  receive  your  fentiments, 
though  I  once  thought  that  it  was  impofiible  to 
anfwer  all  my  objections,  yet  you  have  gone  far 
towards  it.  Nay,  I  cannot  at  prefent  recollect 
any  thing  material,  but  what  you  have  anfwered. 
I  would  not  however  be  too  hafty  in  adopting  this 
fyftem,  but  after  your  example  confider  it  well. 
But  there  is  certainly  fomething  more  grand,  beau- 
tiful, and  harmonious  in  this  view  than  can  be 
found  in  any  other  Icheme  ;  for  both  the  other 
fy Items  end  in  darknefs  and  black  night,  one  in 
endltfs  damnation,  and  the  other  in  gloomy  annihila- 
tion. But  on  your  plan  light  rifes  out  of  obfcurity, 
and  a  glorious  day  fucceeds  the  darkefr.  fcenes. 
This  view  of  things  fets  the  Book  of  divine  Reve- 
lation in  the  moil:  pleafing  light,  and  appears, 
for  aught  any  thing  that  I  can  fee,  confident 
with  the  Divine  perfections.  But  why,  fince  you 
believe  the  univerfalRefloration,  do  you  not  men- 
tion 


2l4  DIALOGUES    ON    THE 

tion  it  more  freely  and  fully,  in  your  public  dif- 
courfes  ? 

Minijler.  On  the  other  hand,  fome  afk  me,  Why 
do  you  ever  mention  it  at  all  in  your  fermons  ; 
fince  it  is  not  effential  to  falvation  to  believe  it  ? 
To  them  I  give  thefe  anfwers. 

i.  St.  Paul  declared  to  Timothy,  that  this  uni- 
verfal  Gofpel  of  God's  being  the  Saviour,  or  Re- 
florer,  of  all  men,  but  efpecially  of  thole  that  be- 
lieve, was  a  faithful  faying,  and  worthy  of  all  ac- 
•eptation  \  and  that  they  laboured  and  luffered  re- 
proach, becaufe  they  trufted  in  God,  as  theuniver- 
fal  Saviour.  But  he  was  fo  far  from  being  afham- 
ed  of  this  belief,  that  he  faid  to  Timothy,  *  Thefe 
things  command  and  teach,'  i  Tim.  iv.  9,  10,  11. 
And  fo  am  I  determined  to  do,  at  proper  opportu- 
nities ;  notwithftanding  the  reproach  and  contempt 
awaiting  me  tor  fo  doing. 

2.  Though  it  is  frequently  faid  to  be  a  matter 
of  little  or  no  confequence,  if  true  •  yet,  if  it  be 
any  part  of  the  record  God  hath  given  of  his  Son, 
(as  I  think  I  have  proved)  we  are  in  danger  of 
making  him  a  liar,  if  we  believe  it  not :  See  1  John 
v.  9,  10,  11. 

3.  Though  you  may  be  Chriflians,  and  not  be- 
lieve it ;  yet  I  cannot  \  though  once  I  could  alio : 
But  now  the  evidences  of  its  truth  appear  lb  plain 
to  my  mind,  that  it  would  be  criminal  in  me  not 
to  believe  it  ;  and  fince  I  do  believe  it,  would  it 
not  be  highly  difhoneft  in  me  to  deny  it  ?  I  have 
never  done  fo  yet,  wheu  afked  ;  and  God  forbid, 
that  I  fhould  be  afhamed  to  publifh,  what  he  has 
commanded  to  be  made  known. 

4.  I  have  commonly  acted  merely  on  the  defen- 
five,  and  I  never  fhould,  that  I  know  of,  have 

preached 


UNIVERSAL   RESTORATION.  21  £ 

preached  it  in  public,  or  but  rarely,  far  lefs  have 
written  upon  the  fubject,  had  it  not  been  repre- 
fented'as  a  dangerous  and  deftructive  herefy  ;  and 
people  been  cautioned  againft  hearing  me,  on  that 
account. 

5.  I  have  been  frequently  defired  to  preach 
upon  the  fubjecl,  expreisly ;  and  could  not  well 
refufe,  without  betraying  a  cowardly  difpofition. 

6.  I  afk,  Who  is  the  belt  man  ;  he  who  preaches 
the  truth  contrary  to  his  judgment,  for  intereft,  or 
to  gain  applaufe  j  or  he  that  fairly  fpeaks  as  he 
thinks,  without  difguife  •,  although  he  knows  that 
it  will  difpleafe  his  bed  friends  on  earth  ;  even  up- 
on the  fuppofition  that  he  errs,  in  many  points  ? 
If  there  be  an  heretic  in  the  world,  it  is  the  man, 
who,  for  the  love  of  money  or  applaufe,  or  through 
the  fear  of  man,  preaches  that  to  others  which  he 
himfelf  doth  not  believe.  «  He  that  is  fuch,  is  fub- 
verted,  and  finneth  j  being  condemned  of  himfelf/ 
Tit.  iii.  11. 

7.  If  we  are  to  hold  forth  nothing  to  mankind, 
but  what  all  are  agreed  in,  we  mull  difcourie  upon 
very  few  iubjects  :  for  I  do  not  recollect  fo  much 
as  one,  but  what  people  either  difagree  about  the 
thing  itfelf,  or  the  manner  of  explaining  and  hold- 
ing it  :  No  !  not  even  the  being  and  perfections  of 
God  :  nor  any  point  of  doctrinal,  experimental,  or 
even  practical  religion. 

8.  We  are  to  endeavour  to  teach  mankind  what 
they  know  not,  as  well  as  to  confirm  them  in  what 
they  are  already  taught  ;  fhould  keep  back  nothing 
that  may  be  profitable  to  them  ;  fhould  give  meat 
to  flrong  men,  as  well  as  milk  to  babes  ,  and  fhould 
not  fhun  to  declare  the  whole  counfel  of  God.  We 
ought  to  juftiry  the  ways  of  God  to  men,  to  fhew 


2l6  DIALOGUES   ON   THE 

the  neceffity  and  harmony  of  Divine  Revelation, 
and  take  pains  to  convert '  infidels  ;  all  which 
things  are  more  promoted  by  this  view  than  any 
Other. 

As  to  your  queftion,  why*  I  do  not  dwell  more 
upon  it  ?  I  anfwer  : 

i.  There  are  a  thoufand  other  fubjec*ts  in  the  Bi- 
ble, befides  this  -,  and  all  deferve  confideration,  ac- 
cording to  their  weight  and  importance. 

2.  I  have  an  utter  averfion  to  going  always  in 
the  fame  round  of  matter  or  manner  •,  and,  therefore 
I  frequently  vary  in  both. 

3.  There  are  many  other  fubjecT:s  of  more  pre- 
fent  importance  than  the  belief  of  this ;  fuch  as,  re- 
pentance, faith,  hope,  love,  obedience,  &c.  and 
therefore  ought  to  be  more  frequently  inMed  on, 
in  proportion  to  their  prefent  ufe. 

4.  There  are  many  fcenes  of  providence  and 
grace  to  take  place  in  the  univerfe,  before  the  ge- 
neral Reftoration  ;  fuch  as  the  Millenium,  the  call- 
ing of  the  Jews,  the  univerfal  fpread  of  the  gof- 
pel  through  the  earth,  &c.  Thefe  things  are  much 
nearer,  and  therefore  the  Scripture  fpeaks  more 
of  them  •,  and  what  God  moft  fpeaks  of,  in  his 
word,  we  fhould  difcourfe  of  moft  to  the  people. 

5.  This  doctrine,  though  it  may  have  its  ufein 
converting  men  •,  and  certainly  enables  thofe  who 
believe  it,  to  fet  forth  the  terrors  of  the  Lord,  and 
his  mercies,  in  a  more  finking  manner  than  other- 
wife  they  could  ;  yet  it  is  chiefly  uieful  in  com- 
forting the  people  of  God,  and,  in  part,  relieving 
them  from  that  bitter  anguifh  which  their  tender 
minds  feel,  from  the  confideration  of  the  vaft  num- 
bers that  perifli  *,  and,  therefore,  may  not  be  fo 

prope 


UNIVERSAL    RESTORATION.  217 

proper  for  a  popular  audience  as  many  other  fub- 
jects. 

6.  The  plan  of  this  grand  Reftoration  is  fo 
vaft,  includes  fo  many  different  and  feemingly 
contradictory  difpenfations,  that  it  cannot  be  fairly 
ftated,  and  fully  defended,  in  one  fermon,  and 
efpecially  the  objections  anfwered  \  and  many  per- 
fons  are  not  capable  of  taking  in  and  digefling  at 
once,  fo  many  fubjects  as  are  necefTary  to  the  un- 
derftanding  of  this  matter,  and  have  not  patience 
to  attend  to  a  long  feries  of  demonfirations,  argu- 
ments, and  proofs  •,  and,  therefore,  this  doctrine 
mould  not  be  introduced  by  any  man,  in  any  place, 
unlefs  he  has  opportunity  to  give  it  a  fair  invelti- 
gation ;  and,  therefore,  I  never  mention  it  at  all, 
at  my  firft  preaching  in  any  place ;  nor  unlefs  I 
have  fufficient  opportunities  to  difcufs  it. 

7.  Chriftfcys  to  his  difciples — ( I  have  yet  many 
things  to  fay  unto  you ;  but  ye  cannot  bear  them 
now,'  St.  John  xvi.  1 2.  And  St.  Paul  fays — '  And 
I,  brethren,  conld  not  fpeak  unto  you  as  unto  fpi- 
ritual,  but  as  unto  carnal;  even  as  unto  babes  in 
Chrijl :  I  have  fed  you  with  milk,  and  not  with 
meat  -,  for  hitherto  ye  were  not  able  to  bear  it ; 
neither  yet  now  are  ye  able/  1  Cor.  iii.  1,  2. 
*  Strong  meat  belongeth  to  them  that  are  of  full 
age  •,  even  thofe  who,  by  reafon  of  ufe,  have  their 
fenfes  exercifed,  to  difcern  both  good  and  evil,' 
Heb.  v.  14.  Therefore,  as  the  Saviour  and  his 
apoftles  adapted  their  fubjects  and  difcourfes  to  the 
circumflances  of  their  hearers,  and  treated  them 
in  a  gentle  manner  ;  fo  (hould  we.  Prudence,  pa- 
tience, and  care,  mould  always  be  ufed  in  di£- 
couriing  on  a  doctrine  fo  deep  and  awful  as  this ; 

K  and, 


2lS  DIALOGUE?    ON'    THE 

and,  efpecially,  as  it  hath  been  fo  littk  known  of 
late  ages. 

H.  I  would  wim  to  eftabiiiTi  well  the  firff  prin- 
ciples of  Chriftianity,  before  I  meddle  with  any 
thing  elfe :  and  as  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Reftora- 
tion,  I  would  rather  that  it  (hould  feem  to  be  na- 
turally inferred  from  truths  already  known,  than 
delivered  as  an  independent  fyftem  :  I,  therefore, 
feldcm  or  ever  make  it  a  leading  point  in  my  dii- 
Courfes;  but  fometimes  lead  to  it,  as  a  natural 
confequence  of  what  has  been  faid.  After  all,  I 
would  chufe  that  men  mould  difcover  it  themfelves, 
by  carefully  reading  the  Scriptures,  without  pre- 
judice, believing  them  to  be  ltrictly  true  :  by  liv- 
ing in  love  towards  God  and  man  *,  by  walking  in 
humility,  often  reflecting  on  their  former  eftate ; 
znd  confrantly  viewing  the  fufflciency  of  Ckri/I,  and 
the  boundlefs  love  of  their  great  Creator  :  rather 
than  to  learn  it  of  any  man,  far  lefs  ftill,  of  fuch 
an  unworthy  worm  as  I  am. 

9.  As  far  as  I  know  my  own  heart,  truth,  in 
love,  is  my  conftant  aim.  I  am  unconnected  with 
any  party  ;  and  am  not  fo  prejudiced  in  favour  of 
any  thing  that  I  hold,  but  that  I  would  willingly 
be  convinced  in  any  thing,  by  proper  evidence  5 
and  when  fo  convinced,  I  am  ready  to  retract  pub- 
Iicldy  :  As,  therefore,  I  do  not  feel  myfelf  perfon- 
ally  intertfted  to  fupport  the  fyftem,  right  or 
wrong  ',  I  have,  therefore,  dwelt  much  lefs  upon 
it,  than  moft  preachers  do  upon  their  particular 
fentiments. 

ic.  When  I  firft  embraced  thefe  views,  I  was 
obliged  to  give  fome  account  of  my  reafons ;  and 
I  chofe  rather  to  do  it  by  writing  than  preaching : 
Accordingly,  I  publifhed  my  fentiments,  and  an- 
swers 


UNIVERSAL     RESTORATION.  2I£ 

fwers  to  many  objections  ;  which  publications  be- 
ing in  the  hands  of  thofe  to  whom  I  preached, 
made  it  kfs  neceflary  for  me  to  difcourfe  upon 
thofe  matters  in  public,  or  even  in  private,  as  I 
could  refer  to  what  I  had  written :  and  with  the 
lame  view,  I  am  inclined  to  publifh  thefe  familiar 
difcourfes,  which  we  have  had  together  ;  after 
which  it  will  be  lefs  neceflary  than  ever  for  me  to 
preach  the  Reftoration  publicly ;  yet,  I  will  not 
wholly  avoid  it,  at  convenient  times,  and  in  pro- 
per circumflances. 

ii.  Laftly,  as  I  know  fo  much  of  the  nature 
of  man,  as  to  be  fenfible  that  he  turns,  with  di£- 
guft  and  loathing,  from  what  is  perpetually  cram- 
med down  his  throat;  but  relifhes  that  which  he 
falls  upon,  as  it  were  accidentally,  and  comes  into 
by  little  and  little  :  I  have  always  made  it  a  rule 
never  to  introduce  it,  in  public  or  private,  unlefs 
where  it  was  earneftly  defired,  nor  ever  to  continue 
it  long  together;  and,  above  all,  never  to  queilion 
people  upon  the  fubjeft,  after  difcourfing  upon  it : 
afking  them,  faying,  Do  you  believe  it  ?  &c.  Nor 
would  I  ever  wifh  to  prefs  them  with  the  argu- 
ments at  once,  and  oblige  them  immediately  to 
yield  ;  as  this  kind  of  conduct,  fo  far  from  anfwer- 
ing  any  good  purpofes,  commonly  lets  them  again!! 
what  is  thus  intruded  upon  them.  It  is  the  beft 
way  to  give  time  and  leifure  to  perfons,  whom 
you  would  wifh  to  convince  ;  and  let  them  exer- 
cife  their  own  faculties. 

Friend.  I  mull  confefs  that  what  you  have  ad- 
vanced is  highly  fatisfactory  to  me,  and  I  truft 
will  be  fo  to  many  others,  who  may  read  thefe 
converfations,  which  I  hope  to  have  the  pleafure 
of  feeing  in  print  before  long  ;  and  in  the  mean 

time, 


220  Dialogues  on  the 

time,  I  wifh  for  a  bleiTing  to  attend  your  labours, 
and  that  you  may  be  an  inftrument  of  much  good 
to  mankind  in  your  day  and  generation-,  and  that 
you  may  obtain  a  crown  of  life  from  the  Lord  the 
righteous  Judge,  in  the  day  of  his  appearing. 

Minifter.  I  thank  you  moft  kindly  for  your  be- 
nevolent wiflies,  I  heartily  wifh  the  fame  blefling 
may  come  to  yourfelf.  And  if  I  have  been  an  in- 
ftrument of  giving  you  any  fatisfaclion,  let  all  the 
glory  be  to  God,  but  let  me  have  an  intereft  in 
your  prayers. 


FIN/    61 


'•*$*#- 


